Bank of Maldives (BML) on Wednesday announced additional COVID-19 relief support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), funded from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
In June this year, the EIB signed an agreement with the Ministry of Finance and BML to grant a loan of EUR 20 million, provided from resources of the External Lending Mandate (ELM) benefitting from a Comprehensive Guarantee from the European Union (EU).
The loan aims to provide financial relief to SMEs in the fields of tourism and industry, to alleviate the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and support economic recovery.
The loan is available to SMEs with a workforce of 3,000 or fewer employees.
"Businesses can finance projects up to MVR 15.42 million at a preferential, lower interest rate and longer maturity than currently available", said the bank.
Conveying gratitude to the EIB on behalf of the people and government of Maldives, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer noted that the loan is the first COVID-19 response related operation of bank signed in Asia.
“The funding from EIB provides access to finance for the many businesses in the tourism and related industries requiring additional support for their post-COVID recovery efforts. The new loan introduced today will pave the way for businesses and in turn, the economy recover faster from the impacts of the pandemic", said BML's CEO and Managing Director, Tim Sawyer.
BML stated that details of the application process will be published on its website on a later date.
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