National Fund resumes premium collection for entrepreneurs

• The Council of Ministers extended the postponement of installment payments for entrepreneurs funded by the Projects Fund every six months. On March 19, it approved a final six-month deferment for SMEs before resuming installment collections.

The National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises Development has announced the resumption of premium collection from entrepreneurs it funds, starting in October, following a payment deferment for up to 54 consecutive months, Al Anba newspaper reported.

The Council of Ministers issued decisions every six months to extend the postponement of installment payments for entrepreneurs funded by the Projects Fund. On March 19, it approved an additional six-month deferment for small and medium-sized enterprises, marking the final extension before the decision to resume installment collection was issued.

The deferment of installment payments due to the fund began on April 1, 2020, following a decision to delay collections for six months from their due date. This measure was taken in response to the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to mitigate its impact on entrepreneurs and support them during the crisis.

The fund announced on its official account on the social networking site ‘X’ that the installment deferment period has ended, and collection of ‘due installments’ has resumed as of October.

The fund initially justified suspending premium collections in 2020 by assessing the economic and social impacts of the state’s exceptional measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. This action followed directives to mitigate pandemic-related challenges, based on the exceptional decisions and precautionary measures implemented by the Council of Ministers, in line with recommendations from the Economic Committee at that time. However, the payment deferment was not solely linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Official reports indicate that the fund continued deferring premium collection for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs from 2022 to facilitate administrative and organizational restructuring, address legal gaps, and support the financial stability of funded projects. These efforts aimed to help projects progress, adapt to new challenges, support the national economy, serve the public interest, and protect entrepreneurs’ rights.