Zelensky promises 3-5% loan program for SMEs

The state will act as a guarantor for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who want to take out a loan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

“I know that quarantine has brought a lot of difficulties to business and citizens. From the first days, we do our best to make your life a little easier. I would like to point out the recent steps in this direction. First of all, it is a 3-5% loan program for SMEs. We understand that there are entrepreneurs who did not work during quarantine, and therefore will not be able to show their income to the bank. Nevertheless, they will receive the necessary money because the state will act as guarantor. Up to 30 billion hryvnias are planned for this program,” Zelensky said in a video address on May 1, the presidential press service reported.

He added that additional six billion hryvnias were allocated to increase the minimum unemployment benefit, as well as to help employers who had stopped working because of coronavirus. "They will be able to receive compensation from the state for paying salaries to their employees," the head of state said.

The president also recalled that in the near future an anti-crisis program for social protection of families would be launched. "If you are a self-employed individual of the first or second taxpayer groups, you will be able to get help for a child under the age of ten," he said.

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