DILI, 05 april 2023 (TATOLI) – The Council of Ministers approved a draft Decree-Law presented by the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, and Industry, with the aim of defining a set of support measures for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
The Decree-Law aims to establish a framework that defines the State’s role in promoting and supporting the economic agents of the Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) sector in Timor-Leste, recognizing the importance of these enterprises for the national economy.
The set of proposed measures to support MSMEs includes easy access to credit, incentives for innovation, the creation of infrastructures for the incubation of companies and businesses, training, and entrepreneurial capacity building.
Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães said besides those measures, the credit application process for MSMEs will be simpler and quicker, without, however, neglecting a rigorous risk analysis.
It is recalled that within the scope of the Economic Recovery Plan, the government created the Soft Credit program, aiming to establish a credit guarantee on loans to be granted to MSMEs by banking institutions with an interest rate (3%) that facilitates access to credit by companies operating on the national market.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
