EDITORIAL: SMEs cheaper loans lifeline the way to go
Tuesday, May 26, 2020 0:01
By EDITORIAL
The successful SMEs of today are tomorrow’s large firms.
The credit guarantee scheme is intended to de-risk lending to small and micro enterprises (SMEs), enabling financial institutions to advance loans at interest half the market charges.
As one of the bright spots in the fight against Covid-19, the State has crafted the credit guarantee scheme to boost recovery of SMEs that have had to close or slow down their operations from early March as part of public health measures.
In fact, the State should make use of the opportunity presented by this pandemic to craft permanent solutions to the challenges that SMEs face.
Just before the emergence of Covid-19, the number of formal jobs generated by the economy had fallen to a seven-year low in 2019, implying the country should pay more attention to segments like SMEs.
