The operation of the mechanism of guaranteeing credits to small and medium-sized enterprises “Dhamen Express” of the Tunisian Guarantee Company (SOTUGAR), has been the subject of agreements signed between the company and local banks.
Endowed with resources that will allow the guarantee of SME financing up to 250 million dinars by 2023, “Dhamen Express” and the digital solution of its deployment, were presented on March 16, 2022, to the partner banks.
These resources represent more than double the current performance of the SME guarantee fund, said Chairman and CEO of SOTUGAR, Tahar Ben Hatira, quoted in a statement issued by the company on Thursday.
The operationalisation of the mechanism is made possible thanks to the technical support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the digitalisation of the guarantee mechanism, Ben Hatira said.
USAID’s technical assistance comes at this critical stage of digitisation of the first part of the process after the initial support from the World Bank, he added.
He said that the next few weeks will be devoted to the popularisation and handling of the platform by the services of partner banks, in charge of credit operations to SMEs via the organisation of 8 days of training by the Tunisian Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (APTBEF).
For his part, Vice President of APTBEF and General Manager of BH Bank, Hichem Rebai stressed that the establishment of this mechanism will allow the relaunch of the activity of financing support to companies and professionals after the COVID episode.
Through this new offer, SOTUGAR, a privileged partner of banks and financial institutions, reaches a new level after 20 years of activity compared to the classic offer, he added.
The “Dhamen Express” mechanism comes to replace the Support and Support for Business Resilience (SARE) mechanisms, given the expected impact and the effectiveness and simplicity it presents, he said.
“Dhamen Express” offers a wider range of eligible activities, unlimited export credits and those covering the working capital needs of companies, for a longer period, he explained.
