Nabil Ali Al-Azrek to Yemen Times SEDU aims to financing the purchase of fixed assets (machinery and equipment) for small businesses, either newly set-up or expanding small enterprises [Archives:2001/50/Business & Economy]
December 10 2001
Q: When was the Small Enterprise Development Unit (SEDU) establish?
A: It was established in 1990 and initiated its tasks in 1991.
Q: What are the main activities performed the SEDU?
A: The SEDU offers loans to small entrepreneurs in all different economic sectors. It is also gives technical advisement to borrowers and conducting several studies aiming at recognizing the future financial flows with regard to their activities and enterprises.
Q: What is the volume of loans offered by the SEDU?
A: The volume of loans offered by the SEDU has been amounting to YR 207,880,000 which is increasable at the percent of 70 percent in comparison with the last year 2000.
Q: What are the main conditions provided by the SEDU in order to get a financing project? What is the duration of the repayment?
A: The first condition is that he should one of the members of the SEDU and has the interest to improve his work. The project has been assessed by specialized experts in the SEDU before giving him loan in order to guarantee the properness of repayment.
Q: Does the SEDU administratively and financially independent? From where the Unit receives the financial support?
A: The SEDU is administratively and financially independent and depends on its loan activities and has not received any financial support. Since the end of 1996 it has been granted some technical support from the Dutch Government.
Q: How many branches in the governorates does the SEDU have? Do you have any future plans to inaugurate new branches?
A: Actually, there are four branches in the main cities of the republic, Sana’a, Taiz, Aden, and Hodeidah. There is also intention to inaugurate a new branch in Hadhramout at the beginning of the year 2002.
Q: What are main activities performed by the Yemeni woman in the SEDU?
A: The SEDU support women’s enterprises by giving them loans. Several women training courses have been held to train female borrowers with the aim of supporting the technical assistance
Q: Have you ever offered a draft law to the Cabinet in order to transfer the SEDU to a financing fund?
A: Yes, the Cabinet has transferred the SEDU to a financing fund to finance the small projects and local institutions and what remain are the constitutional procedures to be issued.
Q: What are the main difficulties do face?
A: The SEDU face many problems and among these are the delay of decision belonging to the unit, insufficient supply of the financial resources. Despite of SEDU expansions in different sectors, in addition to inaugurating new branches in the republic, Loan demands have been augmented too much and the result is that the unit is unable to encounter these demands.
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