Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail has announced plans to open a one-stop shop for commercial services of the government.
Speaking to PSM News, Economic Minister Fayyaz said the government is working on plans to facilitate better services for local businesses and to create a better environment to conduct businesses. In this regard, the minister stated the government plans to open a one-stop shop next year, where businesses can seek all commercial services provided by the government in one place. He added the shop will be operated in a commercial model, under agreements signed with government ministries.
Elaborating on how the shop will conduct its operations, the economic minister said commercial services such as registration of a businesses will be conducted by the one-stop shop, which would be mandated to complete the registration within a specific timeframe as per the agreement signed with the ministry. He said the individual seeking the service will only be required to collect the permit, once it is ready. He noted the shop will operate during the night time as well.
As part of the efforts to assist local businesses, the government established a bank for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) last year, under the name SME Development Finance Corporation (SDFC). In addition to providing loans for the development of SMEs, SDFC has also been providing relief loans for SMEs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.