(Oranjestad)—During a public meeting in the parlament of Aruba this Thursday, the National Ordinance Draft was approved in order to empower the Minister of Economic Relation, Mr. Geoffrey Wever, to help—together with Qredits Aruba—a total of 50 local businesses receive an investment loan with a reduced interest fee especially designed for small business and merchants.
This is proof that the government does indeed work with the private sector to empower small businesses, create jobs and stimulate entrepreneurship. Based on this cooperation, Qredits invested 1.2 million florins to finance approximately 50 small companies with a reduced interest rate of 5.75%.
This cooperation between the Ministery of Economic Relations and Qredits Aruba will also make sure to give 80 people the opportunity to participate in the Small Business Academy. There was also the posibility for young adults to participate in the program called “Be Your Own Boss.” Both programs aim to provide education for existing and future businesses.
During the pandemic, the government had to find ways to help small businesses quickly, seeing the extraordinary situation at the time, for which there was no time to wait. At that time, a donation was made to Qredits Aruba, which in return made them able to help more than 100 companies make ends meet. Minister Wever indicated that “no policies can be made in regards to this, and we are grateful for the assistence given to small businesses during a difficult time.” The minister is also happy that Parlament has given the aproval for this new draft.
