EU Grants EUR 2 Million For COVID Recovery Of MSME’s

The European Union has allocated EUR 2 Million as a grant aid for the tourism sector’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to recover from the Covid19 crisis as part of establishing a more sustainable and productive environment in the Maldives.

The project has been allocated as EUR 1.4 Million on direct transfers, while EUR 600,000 will go towards technical assistance, which will be used to train beneficiaries in high-impact areas like operational improvements, financial management, sustainable waste management, and obtaining access to international markets.

Furthermore, the technical assistance component will enable the establishment of an OTA system, which will serve as a strategically significant tool for preserving industry value and encouraging the growth of tourism-related MSMEs.

As of now, MVR 9.8 Million has been distributed to 209 guest houses and 50 safari vessels across Maldives as per Maldives Fund Management Corporation. In order to be eligible for the purpose, applicants must be local, registered & doing business in the Maldives in the guest house or safari sector.

Secondly, the business must be registered and/in operation with valid operating license as of December 2019, January 2020 or February 2020 and the guesthouse/safari must have 40 beds or less. Applications are accepted before May 31^st, 2022.