Ministry of Economic Development has opened applications to categorise micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The economic ministry will categorise the businesses in accordance with the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Act. The ministry has published the standards by which MSMEs in the Maldives will be evaluated, which includes the number of employees working for the business and the estimated yearly revenue and net profit.
As such, businesses that employ no more than five employees with a revenue of no more than USD 32,000, and a net profit of USD 5,000 will be categorised as micro-enterprises. Businesses that employ between 6 and 30 workers with a revenue of USD 32,000 to USD 324,000 and a net profit of USD 5,000 to USD 49,000 will be categorised as small enterprises. Businesses that employ between 31 and 100 workers with a revenue of USD 324,000 to USD 1.3 million and a net profit of USD 49,000 to USD 65,000 will be categorised as medium enterprises.
The economic ministry has published the formula to be used to evaluate the businesses, and any business that exceeds any of the values will not be categorised as MSMEs. The ministry will be accepting applications via its business portal, and the list of categorised businesses will be published on its website. The ministry stated businesses categorised as micro-enterprises will be exempt from implementing the minimum wage policy.