President Luis Abinader dedicated the first half hour of his Monday, 24 March 2025 weekly press conference to explain about the substantial increase in credit now available for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
He highlighted the administration’s commitment to bolstering this vital sector of the Dominican economy. The Ministry of Industry & Commerce is in charge of the Promipyme programs that provide financial services and non-financial services, like training to small businesses. Promipyme also offers interest rates that are well below the market averages to MSMEs.
During this week’s press conference, President Abinader revealed that the MSME credit portfolio has grown by RD$4.16 billion, and loan disbursements have tripled in the last four years. When taking office in 2020, the Promipyme loan portfolio was RD$5.57 billion, and it has now grown 74.62% to RD$9.74 billion as of January 2025.
He emphasized the crucial role of MSMEs as the country’s primary job creators, employing 61.6% of the national workforce, totaling 3,052,449 individuals, and contributing 32% to the national GDP.
President Abinader said the loan default rate has gone from 17.2% to 9.7%, indicating improved financial stability among the MSMEs. He said that a significant focus of the lending has been on supporting women-led businesses, with 51% of recent loan disbursements directed toward women entrepreneurs. New programs such as “Tu firma es tu garantía” and “Promipyme Mujer” have been created. Likewise, the creative industry can access a RD$500 million fund.
During the presentation, Abinader said that to foster more support for the MSMEs, the government has established strategic alliances with national and international institutions, including financial organizations and universities.
Read more in Spanish:
Presidency
El Caribe
26 March 2025