Govt pays K900,000 for SME loans

Business

THE Government has paid Bank South Pacific K900,000 to support the rollout of a lending platform for small to medium enterprises.
According to the bank, the lending platform called Lend Fast is a business model they built four years ago with the support of the International Finance Corporation designed to meet the needs of customers in the SME sector.
Minister for Trade, Commerce and Industry Wera Mori, who handed over the cheque, said the bank had so far approved 254 SME loans totalling K16 million to the Highlands, 413 loans totalling K21mil to Mamose, 299 SME loans totalling K17mil to the New Guinea Islands and 77 SME loans of K5mil to Southern.
He said 351 SME loans totalling K20million was given out in the National Capital District – with a total loan portfolio of K79million overall.
He said the loan platform had resulted in SMEs creating new jobs and income opportunities for locals.
“This is in line with the Government’s overall policy directives under the SME policy and the master plan medium term development goal to create 500,000 SMEs before 2030,” he said.
Mori said the medium term development plan also identified poverty alleviation through SME employment and income generation.