Ministry of Economic Development has extended the deadline for the Women Entrepreneurs Loan and increased the loan amount.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Adam Thaufeeq stated that the deadline was extended upon public request. He noted that the deadline had been extended thrice before, also on request from many citizens.
“We extended the deadline before, and we’re extending it until the 15th of this month because a lot of people are requesting for an extension of the deadline. We hope that a lot of people will apply for the loan before the deadline,” Deputy Minister Adam Thaufeeq said.
The Women Entrepreneurs Loan is funded through Asian Development Bank (ADB) funds amounting to MVR 20.46 million. The Economic Ministry introduced the Women Entrepreneurs Loan on the February 15 this year, in association with Bank of Maldives.
The introductory loan amounts of MVR 50,000 to MVR 100,000 have since been revised alongside the deadline extension, allowing loan amounts up to MVR 200,000.
Entrepreneurs applying for loan amounts below MVR 50,000 do not require a collateral, while those applying for loan amounts exceeding MVR 50,000 are required to mortgage something worth 130% of the loan amount as collateral.
Applicants are required to invest 15% of the total loan amount of their projects by themselves.
“The applicants are no longer required to submit bills for the machinery used in their projects. We understand the difficulties involved in finding bills for machinery and so we have discussed with BML and found an easier option whereby applicants can simply provide us the prices of the machinery,” the Deputy Minister said.
According to the ministry, 195 applicants have already applied for the loan and have been given the opportunity to resubmit their applications under the newly increased loan amounts.
The Women Entrepreneurs Loan is given at a 9% interest rate with a one year grace period and eight years to repay the loan.
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