Addu City Council has announced the Government of Maldives has agreed to issue loans up to 5 million US dollars to develop small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Addu City.
Speaking at a press conference held at Ministry of Tourism, Mayor of Addu City Abdulla Sodiq said the council would not discriminate between small businesses and big investors in issuing land plots to develop guesthouses and city hotels. He further explained SMEs shall also be given the opportunity to acquire land plots from the city.
The discussions between Addu City Council and the government involved exploring other business opportunities for SMEs in Addu City.
Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail explained the government had allocated a budget of USD 5.2 million to develop SMEs in Addu City, according to Mayor Sodiq. He said the economic minister also pledged to consider the possibility of increasing the preliminary figure.
The government has established an SME Bank as part of the efforts to develop SMEs in Maldives. The bank has issued over USD 65 million for businesses in the past 6 months.