Financial aid to be given to SMEs hit by recent floods

ANKARA

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by floods recently will be eligible for financial support, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır has said.

“SMEs which document their damages will be entitled to an interest-free loan of up to 1 million Turkish Liras,” Kacır said at an event at the Ankara Chamber of Industry.

They have launched the Emergency Support Loan Program for the companies affected by bad weather conditions, floods and storms which hit several provinces this week, the minister noted.

The financial support program will be offered to SMEs in some districts in the provinces of Zonguldak, Batman, Diyarbakır and Bursa, as well as Istanbul’s Şile, according to Kacır.

The loans will have 24-month maturity with a grace period of 12 months, Kacır said, adding that interests will be paid by the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB).

Kacır separately said that the number of organized industrial zones (OSB) increased from 192 to 353 over the past 21 years.

The number of people employed in those organized industrial zones rose from 415,000 to more than 2.5 million, he added.

Also, some 38 industrial zones have been established in recent years, which have enabled Türkiye to host large-scale high-technology investments, Kacır said.