The total disbursed as loans under the government’s Covid-19 Recovery Loan Scheme introduced due to the ongoing pandemic has reached MVR 351.8 million.

The Ministry of Finance partnered with the SME Development and Finance Corporation (SDFC) to administer the Covid-19 Recovery Scheme targeted towards SMEs and self-employed and freelance workers, as part of the government’s Economic Relief Package, which is implemented through the “Viyafaari Ehee” loan initiative by SDFC.

Under this, a total of 2,089 individuals had received loans in MVR 351.8 million up until 21 January.

The finance ministry’s latest statistics go on to reveal that 654 self-employed individuals and 1,435 businesses received loans. The latter received a total of MVR 332.2 million, while the remaining MVR 19.6 million was for freelancers.

The ministry received a total of 2,033 applications from businesses, out of which 1,520 were approved and 1,519 applications were sanctioned. 79 applications were rejected.

Out of the 2,053 applications received from self-employed individuals, 685 applications were approved, 685 sanctioned and 626 rejected.

As per the finance ministry, MVR 360.6 million out of the MVR 574.7 million requested through businesses have been approved as well as 20.5 million out of the 52.5 million requested through freelancers.

Statistics go on to indicate that MVR 201 million was approved for the commercial sector by Thursday.

The Covid-19 Recovery Loan Scheme is specialized for freelancers with the annual turnover less that MVR 10 million during 2019, who are facing hindrances and difficulties to run required operations due to the pandemic.

Eligible individuals may apply for loans up to MVR 30,000 at six percent interest per annum for a three-year period. A grace period of up to six months is offered during which no interest is charged, and no payment of principal or interest is required.