The Development Bank of Belarus, in co-operation with partner banks, has financed 99 investment projects for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) — worth Br650bn.
Credit resources have been allocated to companies doing business in areas vital to the national economy, such as forest procurement, transport, construction, and production of rubber and plastic products, metal ware. Funds have also been provided to projects in chemical and textile production, plant breeding, and polygraphic activity.
Participants of the programme include representatives of small and medium-sized businesses engaged in the production of food, furniture, woodwork items, and electrical machinery and equipment.
Most projects (56 percent) are related to manufacturing, 25 percent to transport, and 10 percent to services. Projects in the construction sector comprise 9 percent of the SME promotion portfolio.
Credit support is most popular among SMEs in the Minsk Region, as well as in the city of Minsk, and in the Brest and Gomel regions. There are slightly fewer participants from the Grodno and Vitebsk regions, while Mogilev Region SMEs are in the minority.
The Development Bank of Belarus has been implementing the SME promotion programme since August 2014, and self-employed entrepreneurs began joining the programme from November 2014. The financial mechanism envisages that the Development Bank allocates funds to partner banks, so that they can issue loans to participants of the programme.
By Alexander Veremeev
