In May 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced new economic supports to assist various sectors in dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as the Turkish government's plans to provide financial help to small businesses most affected by the pandemic.
Within this scope, President Erdoğan introduced a new “Nefes" credit scheme for Turkish enterprises, SMEs, and artisans.
The Ministry of Treasury and Finance shared the details of the “Nefes" credit scheme that will be utilized starting from June 1 by 10 Turkish banks in collaboration with The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) and Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF).
Accordingly, SMEs with a turnover of TRY 1 million or fewer in 2020 will utilize a maximum of TRY 50 thousand credit, while SMEs with a turnover of TRY 1-10 million will use a maximum of TRY 200 thousand.
Treasury-backed CGF guarantees will be provided, and the annual interest rate will be 17.5 percent, the Ministry stated.
The loan facility will have a 6-month grace period and will be repaid in 12 installments.