SME Financing and Development Cooperation (SDFC) has issued loans amounting to MVR 120 million.
Speaking on local channel Raajje TV on Sunday, Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail revealed SDFC has issued and contracted loans amounting to MVR 120 million. Due to extensive requests, the corporation will be issuing additional loans over the next two years, said the minister.
Minister Fayyaz said it is aimed to issue MVR 500 million in loans each year for the next two years.
SME Bank has received loan applications amounting to over MVR 1 billion.
The bank was established this year for the purpose of issuing loans to small and medium businesses, and has introduced several different loan plans.
While the government owns 85% shares at the bank, the remaining 15% are owned by local councils. The equity requirement for the loans issued by SDFC vary between 15-20%, with interest rates between 6-9.5%. Approved loan amounts are between MVR 75,000 - 5,000,000.
