224 small businesses benefit from $1B in loans under LCDS initiative

Jun 18, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Under the Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) initiative, 224 Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) businesses were able to benefit from almost $1B in loans. This was facilitated under the Micro and Small Enterprise Development and Building Alternative Livelihoods for Vulnerable Groups project which addressed two major bottlenecks – limited access to finance and limited technical and business skills – that constrained the development of MSEs and the ability of vulnerable groups to build alternative livelihoods in Guyana.
According to the LCDS 2030 report, access to finance was addressed through a credit guarantee facility where the project guaranteed at first 40 per cent, and later up to 70 per cent, of the collateral requirements for loans at participating financial institutions.
There was also a grant scheme to assist vulnerable persons with viable business propositions. The Government also worked with participating Commercial Banks to lower their interest rates from a range of 14 per cent to 26 per cent all the way to 6 per cent for any entrepreneur who was approved for a loan for their low carbon venture under the project.
In fact, it was stated that 224 loans were approved at a value of US$ 4,339,138 or approximately $ 908,422,000. It was listed that the percentage of loans by sector were as follows: 46.9 per cent in professional and business services; 9.8 per cent in fruits and vegetables; 12.1per cent in agriculture and agro-processing; 15.2 per cent in arts and crafts; 5.4 per cent in manufacturing activities; 2.2 per cent in internet and computer based services; 2.2 per cent in eco-tourism; 1.8 per cent in sustainable forestry and wood processing; 0.9 per cent in entertainment, music and the performing arts, 1.3 per cent in aquaculture, 0.4 per cent in apiculture, 0.4 per cent in energy efficient transportation and logistics, 0.4 per cent in low carbon energy production/ distribution, 0.9 per cent in publishing and printing.
Notably, males represented 61 per cent of the loan beneficiaries and females, 39 per cent.
Moreover, 591 grants were approved at a value of US$ 891,055 or approximately $184,002,830. According to information from the report the percentage of grants by sector were as follows: 40.6 per cent in professional and business services; 22.8 per cent in agriculture and agro-processing; 16.2 per cent in fruits and vegetables; 6.8 per cent in arts and crafts; 4.7 per cent in manufacturing activities; 4.2 per cent in internet and computer based activities; 1.0per cent in apiculture; 0.8 per cent in sustainable forestry and wood processing; 1.0 per cent in entertainment music and performing arts; 0.5 per cent in eco-tourism; 0.8per cent in publishing and printing; and 0.3 per cent in aquaculture.
For the grants, males represented 38 per cent beneficiaries and females represent 62 per cent.
Moreover, lack of skills was addressed through a training voucher scheme which enabled MSEs to obtain necessary skills at existing training institutions. With this, it saw a total of 4,482 people being trained in several areas including: basic business management skills, record keeping, packaging and labelling, a special course aimed at female entrepreneurs, climate smart agriculture, sustainable forestry, plumbing, videography, photography, cosmetology, cookery, and craft.
Notably, a total of 2,101 jobs were sustained and/or created in low-carbon sectors by the loans and grants under the micro and small enterprise development project, whereas 1,217 jobs from grants and 884 from loans.

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