SMEs struggling to obtain loans

THE Government’s small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) loan programme must be available to people in all sectors, a businessman says.
Western Highlands businessman Martin Wara said many people were moving into the SME sector but struggled to get support through the K200 million provided by the Government.
Wara said Bank South Pacific Financial Group Ltd (BSP) and the National Development Bank needed to tailor their policies on small business loans to allow those at the village level and in the districts to access the funds.
Wara said he made several attempts to get a loan through the SME roll out programme but was unsuccessful.
He said the SME loan scheme had policies and requirements that ruled out a majority of the population – the very people it was meant to help.
He said a small number of people had benefited from the SME loan programme which defeated its purpose. Wara said he was able to acquire a loan but from Kina Bank and not the two banks at the forefront of the programme.