Murad and al-Mahmoud shaking hands after reaching the deal to support SMEs
Ahlibank has entered into an agreement with Qatar Development Bank (QDB) for the latter’s ‘Al Dhameen’ finance assurance programme to support the small and medium enterprises (SME).
The agreement was signed by Ahlibank CEO Salah Murad and QDB chief executive Mansour Ibrahim al-Mahmoud.
Al Dhameen, which offers a range of financing solutions to viable SMEs, has been designed to improve access to financing by guaranteeing part of the financing extended by commercial banks.
The scheme primarily targets SMEs with an annual revenue turnover limited to QR40mn. For new projects, the programme guarantees 85% of the facility, up to QR10mn. For existing eligible SMEs, it guarantees 75% of the principal with the maximum financing capped at QR8mn.
The tenure for funding both new and existing SMEs has been fixed at five years for long-term and one year for short-term funding.
“This new financial scheme will allow an increase in lending volumes to local businesses at better terms; in turn benefiting the business community under the SMEs. We firmly believe that for an economy to move from strength to strength there should be a proactive partnership between the private and public sectors in order to build a healthy and vibrant SME base,” Murad said.
According to al-Mahmoud, the programme is the result of extensive research and market studies conducted by QDB to assess the current challenges faced by the SME sector, factoring the potential contribution of this segment to the overall economic growth and diversification.