Microfinancing organisations for business financing support pandemic-stricken SMEs
By early October, about 4.5 thousand SMEs have received loans from microfinance organisations (MFOs). It became possible thanks to, among other things, the recapitalisation of state-controlled MFOs conducted by the government in 2020 Q2-Q3, the amount of which totalled 13 billion rubles, reports the MFO Business Financing Market Trends study.
The majority of microloans were issued to cover unforeseen costs and support the operating activities of SMEs (payment of salaries and urgent obligations to suppliers, etc.). At the same time, more than half of MFOs have not changed their scoring systems and the limits, but have simplified the application reviewing process and approved loans to companies operating in the most affected fields, including those whose financial standing was impaired as a result of the pandemic. In many regions, new products were launched to support the operations and core activities of the most affected companies.