SME Finance Development Corporation (SDFC) has disbursed 38 loans under the COVID-19 relief fund.
Speaking at a press conference held at National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail revealed SDFC has received 1,163 applications for relief loans, of which 25% has been processed. The minister said 263 loans have been approved, 57 applications were rejected. He added SDFC has disbursed 38 loans so far.
Minister Fayyaz said SDFC is working on processing all the pending applications by the end of next week. He noted there have been delays in processing the applications due to the lockdown imposed in the Greater Male’ Region, adding some staff have been in self isolation.
The government introduced a relief loan scheme through Bank of Maldives (BML) and SME Development Finance Corporation (SDFC) in order to assist individuals and businesses whose sources of income have been blocked due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A maximum of USD 32,250 is disbursed under a single loan, which is issued at 6% interest rate and a repayment period of 3 years.