Are you eligible for a Kafalat Plus loan guarantee?
The applying SME must fulfill all the following conditions:
• The guaranteed loan is used for business development: to establish a viable
new production capacity, or to sustain current production and employment;
• The loan is used in one of the following economic sectors: Industry, Agriculture,
Tourism, Tradition Crafts, or High Technology;
• The SME shall provide evidence in the form of a business plan, that it has the ability to repay the loan;
• The SME must not be engaged in any of the activities excluded under the scheme as stated below
Preferably, the SME also
• Has the potential to export;
• Has potential to generate significant value added and/or use local raw materials and/or introduce new and innovative technologies;
• Operates in rural areas promoting basic infrastructure and financial support;
• Works with new prototypes, products, inventions based on detailed market analysis, financial and technical appraisal.
For existing SMEs, the enterprise should fulfill the following:
• The SME enterprise must be registered in Lebanon as a profit making enterprise
• No default under any credit facility should have occurred for the 3-years prior to the date of the request for the loan;
• The SME shall keep regular accounting records and shall produce standard financial statements audited or certified by an independent licensed auditor on an annual basis;
• The enterprise has 40 employees or less, in majority a Lebanese labor force;
For start ups, the enterprise should fulfill the following:
• The start up must be a bona fide new business venture which has not conducted any commercial operation in the past;
• The start up should be a Lebanese registered entity employing in majority a Lebanese labour force; with the majority shareholder; or in the case of a sole trader or partnership, the individual or main partner should be a over 18 years of age;
• No default under any credit facility should have occurred during the 2 years prior to the date of loan request for any of the partners associated to the start up;
