Above: Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina has launched his country’s programme to help develop micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the country.

The plan, which will go into effect Sept. 16, is a combination of new investment, loans and bureaucratic changes.

According to Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo, beginning in January, the country’s Reserve Bank is announcing a new loan portfolio totaling $102.1 million to support SMEs, along with $15 million from the Foundation Banreservas for microenterprises.

A European Union grant of approximately $25 million will target 25,000 micro-enterpreneurs in the Dominican Republic in the areas of training and technical assistance.

The Dominican Republic’s National Council to Promote and Support Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (PROMIPYME), will be reducing the processing time for credit applications from 30 days to 5 days, with a total council credit line of about $12.5 million.

Medina also announced his government’s creation of the Solidarity Bank as a government institution for micro credit. The bank will initially be capitalized with $15 million, targeting poor, particularly female, micro-entrepreneurs.

According to PROMIPIYE director Mayra Jimenez, the project seeks to benefit as many as 75,000 people in the Dominican Republic in its first year, with a target of 500,000 people in 2016.

Jimenez also said the government would be looking to change the law creating the Ministry of Industry and Trade in order to help design and implement policies in favour of SMEs development.