SME Bank, which is being developed for small and medium enterprises, will open on March of 2019 as per President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. He announced this during his speech in a ceremony held in Carnival Area on the night of 1st February 2019. The bank will open with shares from all three city councils. In that regard, Addu City Council has already passed a resolution, ensuring 5% shares from the bank.
Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Fayyaz Ismail previously stated that SME Bank will conduct transparent evaluations before giving the loans and that they will be observing the success of the business before doing so.
Opening an SME Bank in Maldives is one of President Solih’s first 100-day pledges. In the ceremony held in Carnival Area, he mentioned that many pledges have already been made into reality, such as discontinuing duty from diesel, conducting breakfast programs for students and many more.