Financial support needed by Kuwait's SMEs affected by coronavirus crisis is about $1.6bln

KUWAIT CITY: Preliminary estimate of financial support needed by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) affected by the coronavirus crisis is about KD500 million, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting official sources.

Sources told the daily that the biggest obstacle in supporting these companies is the lack of funds in Kuwait National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises Development.

Sources confirmed there is an urgent effort to amend the Fund Law, so that the government pays from the public reserve a new batch of its declared capital upon incorporation — KD2 billion.

Sources disclosed the amount previously transferred to the fund was spent on financing more than a thousand projects so far, most of which have been suspended. Sources added the required amount — KD500 million — is sufficient to accommodate requests for support and financing from every SME according to the conditions of the fund; about 40,000 companies engaged in various economic activities.

It has been reported that the fund constitutes 80 percent of the financing; while 20 percent comes from banks which manage credit, studies, risks and administrative burdens to accelerate the process of granting the support needed for financing to be productive.