‘1,035 projects funded at a cost of KD 177.1 million over 3 years’
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KUWAIT CITY, May 21: The National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprise Development since 2016-2019 has funded 1,035 projects at a cost of KD 177.1 million, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The daily quoting Minister of Commerce and Industry, the Minister of State for Services Affairs Khaled Al- Roudhan said KD 177 million had been spent on small and medium projects over the past three years.
In response to a parliamentary question submitted by MP Mubarak Al- Hajraf, the minister explained that commercial enterprises took the largest part of the fund with KD 61.2 million in financing some 411 projects, then service projects obtained KD 64.8 million to finance over 406 projects, while 147 industrial projects were funded with KD 38.2 million, KD 5.2 million for some 43 craft projects, and KD 7.5 million for 28 agricultural projects. The minister said the fund had rejected 1,807 projects in the same period for various reasons, including lack of financial and technical studies, inaccurate or exaggerated assessment of expenses, unclear sale, marketing, and pricing policies, lack of experience and other factors.
According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the sector is about to add new supply items to subsidized rations given to Kuwaitis, citing frozen meat, cereals, new brands of milk and burgers. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Khaled Al- Roudhan said under the amendment of the tender law, foreign and local contractors will be required to assign 10% of the contracting work they will be awarded by the Central Tender Committee to small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs), reports Al-Anba daily.
Al-Roudhan added the decision gives 8 advantages to the young people following the amendment of the tender law, which obligates the foreign or local contractor to purchase at least 10% of the products and services of the SMEs approved by the Fund for SMEs.
Al-Roudhan referred to the other advantages, adding that the business category of the SMEs was added to the cases of contracting by limited practice or direct order. This is in addition to the exemption of small and medium-sized enterprises from fees for collecting tender documents.
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