The COVID-19 MSME Fund Nepal was launched in October 2020 with the objective of supporting pandemic impacted MSMEs through a) interest/ collateral free loan to meet their working capital needs and b) technical assistance in the form of business development services. Leveraging grant support from Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC and FMO – the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, this blended finance program has enabled our Partner Banks – Laxmi Bank, NMB Bank and Nabil Bank, to lend off their own balance sheet. In addition to this, the fund is also providing business advisory/ development service to help the beneficiaries improve their managerial and operational capabilities.
Watch the videos below from our 'Showcase Event' to learn about some of the challenges faced by SMEs from the perspective of entrepreneurs and how blended finance could facilitate sustainable growth
Interest/Collateral-Free Loans for SMEs General FAQs
We are looking for businesses with:
We are sector agnostic – open to all. We highly encourage you to apply if you meet the aforementioned qualifications.
No, our partner banks will provide the loan after they do their own due diligence on the applications shortlisted by OTW.
The loan size can range from NPR 1 to 2 million.
The loan is interest/collateral free for a maximum period of 18 months (duration of the Fund).
It is a short-term working capital loan for a period of 12-18 months. Interest/collateral free provision will end in 18 months at most. After this period, you will have to adhere to the standard requirements of the assigned bank to continue the relationship.
The terms and conditions of the loan are determined by the bank that will be providing the loan.
The timeline on the sanctioning of the loans is dependent on the submission of required documents/information by the applicant. Banks are expected to provide a decision on a loan application within a week.
You are receiving phone calls from OTW to make sure all the information you submitted are accurate. We also already screened your application before calling you. That way we can ask you any additional information about your business in the phone call.
OTW will send the shortlisted applications to one or more of the partner banks. Based on their review of your application, you may receive a call from the partner bank where after you may be required to visit their branch for loan processing.
Based on the OTW’s and partner bank’s internal due diligence, applications of a final set of eligible MSMEs will be approved and the loans will be disbursed.
If your profile fits into our overall objective, OTW will forward your application to our partner bank(s). If the bank wishes to consider granting you a loan, the bank will then contact you for their due diligence process.
All fees and charges payable to the bank, wherever applicable, are to be borne by the applicant. OTW does not charge a fee at any point.
One to Watch will review all approved loan recipients to assess the need for business development services. If deemed appropriate, services will be provided to the loan recipient. We expect 4 out of 10 to receive business development support.
We will cater our BDS according to the needs of your business in the including but not limited to the following areas:
No, loan recipients of the COVID Fund who qualify for BDS do not have to pay for the services.