SMEs to benefit from new interest scheme |27 February 2014

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will now benefit from better interest rates from the Development Bank of Seychelles (DBS).

This follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment and DBS for the implementation and financing of the Incentive Scheme for Small and Medium Enterprises.

Under this scheme, government will provide certain guarantee on loans and will provide DBS’s clients a subsidy on loan interest.

For example, in the case of a R1 million loan whereby the client will be charged a five percent interest, three percent will be taken care of by the scheme.

To benefit from the initiative, businesses must have a turnover of less than R5 million.

The MoU was signed by the principal secretary for Policy, Trade and Investment Dr Steve Fanny and the chief executive of DBS Annie Vidot, in the presence of the Minister for Finance, Trade and Investment Pierre Laporte.

Dr Fanny has declared that the signing of the MoU permits the kick-start of the scheme as DBS will as from now on be able to disburse loans to SMEs with lower interest rates.

He has however made it clear that the new rates will not benefit refinancing cases, nor the wholesale and retail services, but rather the productive sector.

He concluded that the scheme represents the government’s commitment to make the lives of SMEs easier, to make them more productive and to permit them to continue to grow.

This, he said, will guarantee a greater contribution from them to the economy. Dr Fanny has seized the opportunity to call on entrepreneurs to repay their loans promptly in order to assure the success of the scheme and to permit other businesses to benefit.

Ms Vidot on her part said that the bank is very happy to benefit from the partnership of the Ministry of Finance.

“Although the same agreement has been signed with the commercial banks, we have our own clients with their own projects, especially new businesses which may not be assisted by commercial banks.
 
This MoU comes at the time when we are celebrating 36 years of existence, and we will be most willing to assist small businesses,” Ms Vidot said.