Govt relief fund for MSMEs

M– Last year government launched the COVID-19 relief funding for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Government had taken note of the fact that the MSME sector employed 25 per cent of the total labour force and as such MSME development emerged as a key instrument in poverty reduction efforts.

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo said Eswatini Bank would manage the fund in accordance with regulations that were approved by Parliament. “The aim of the scheme is to provide easily accessible finance to cater for the operating expenses of MSMEs, both formal and informal, which have been affected by COVID-19. The aim is to reach all affected businesses to ensure that they remain operational,” the minister said in January 2021.

MSME Director in the ministry Mluleki Dlamini said the ministry sought to empower SME’s whose growth path was comprehensive. Government stated clearly that the relief fund was targeted at assisting the businesses that were adversely affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.