Japan to provide $139.3M in financing for Türkiye's quake-hit SMEs

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide a 20 billion yen (approximately $139.3 million) loan to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) affected by the twin earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, the Turkish industry minister said on Wednesday.

The financing deal was signed between JICA and Türkiye's Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB), Mehmet Kacir said in a post on the X platform.

New financing will be provided to SMEs in earthquake zones as part of the Post-Earthquake Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Recovery Project, which was launched in November in collaboration with the World Bank.

Quake-hit SMEs will benefit from a loan with a 36-month maturity, a payment grace period for the first 24 months, and interest-free three equal installments for the remaining 12 months, Kacir said.

As part of the Post-Earthquake Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Recovery Project, a total of 12.8 billion liras (about $439.4 million) in financing has been provided for 39,680 SMEs so far, he stressed.

Two powerful earthquakes hit 11 provinces in southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, causing extensive damage and killing and injuring tens of thousands of people.

The quake-hit region was home to more than 470,000 private enterprises, of which 99% are micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).