Kuwaiti Government Submits New Bill to Help SMEs Affected by the Pandemic
The bill proposes a new grant loan offer to SMEs across the country.
As separate parts of the MENA ecosystem slowly but surely work towards a prosperous, post-Corona world, the Kuwaiti government has submitted a bill that intends to support the most affected SMEs across the country.
The five-article bill is anchored by grant loans of KD 250,000 per SME, which are payable within five years with a two-to-three-year grace period. The loans will be distributed in batches, but require that applicants to not terminate the services of Kuwaiti workers, while recruiting locals according to an undisclosed percentage.
The grants will be supervised by the Central Bank of Kuwait and the bill is expected to pass with little issue. The COVID-19 pandemic has all but ravaged ecosystems regionally and internationally, with many a startup forced into downsizing, pivoting or, in some cases, shutting down altogether. The Kuwaiti bill comes as the latest in a wave of initatives and schemes from both the private sector and governmental entities across the region.
