The loan given to freelancers to financially assist them amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has been extended from MVR 18,000 to MVR 30,000, according to Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer.
In a press conference, Minister Ameer stated that even though government initially allocated MVR 18,000 for freelancer’s loan in the relief package, they have now extended the amount to MVR 30,000. Minister did not state any reason as to why loan limit for SMEs have been revised.
Previously, government received criticism as MVR 18,000 was insufficiently low and the repayment amount was too high.
Government announced that they will be providing a MVR 2.5 billion stimulus package, which includes MVR 1.55 billion ($100 million) in emergency loans for businesses to meet short-term working capital needs.
