The Reserve Bank of Fiji has so far approved 5,244 loan applications worth $106.9 million under the COVID-19 Recovery Credit Guarantee Scheme.
Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says in addition to this the financial institutions are currently processing another 64 applications with a total value of $3.4 million.
Sayed-Khaiyum says government has so far paid $1.3 million in interest cost.
He says there were 2,509 applications for micro-enterprises, 1,648 applications for small businesses, 652 applications for medium businesses and 435 applications for large businesses.
$200 million was allocated for this scheme in the 2021/2022 National Budget.
This is a recovery scheme for MSMEs and also large businesses to assist them to meet their financial needs and recover from economic losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Existing micro businesses with turnover less than $50,000 are eligible for a maximum loan funding of $10,000.
Small businesses with an annual turnover of $50,000 to $300,000 are eligible for a maximum loan funding of $20,000, while medium-sized businesses with annual turnover of $300,000 to $1.25 million are eligible for a maximum loan of $50,000.
