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07.05.2020 6 INTERVIEW What is Malta Enterprise doing to assist SMEs during the lockdown introduced as part of the measures to combat COVID-19? What incentives and measures are most in demand amid the coronavirus crisis? As the first point of contact for busi- nesses, Malta Enterprise has been en- trusted to administer the economic measures announced by the government mainly the Wage Supplement support measure, Quarantine Leave refunds for employees and the cost reimbursement for companies investing in facilitation of telework. All three have been successful in their own merit. As expected, the largest number of applications received were for the wage supplement support measure with near- ly 19,000 applications covering 87,808 employees. e wage supplement meas- ure is proof that we are making a dif- ference. Instead of employers having to make their employees redundant, jobs are being saved. is is ensuring the companies hold to one of the most important factors of pro- duction – human capital. is is critical to ensure a fast recovery once the right conditions are in place. Businesses are being evaluated on the impact the pan- demic has had on their operations irre- spective whether these were closed by government or not. Malta Enterprise has also launched an R&D Fund in collaboration with the MCST. Its aim is to facilitate research by academics and private entities on COV- ID-19 as a departure point. Such re- search can also be extended to outcomes that do not only address innovative and/ or improved approaches related to the current pandemic, but also potential fu- ture waves and other antiviral relevant research. Malta Enterprise employees are work- ing round the clock to process all the ap- plications received. In order to be able to conduct this phase swiftly and with effi- cacy, over the last weeks the various rel- evant departments within ME collabo- rated in order to streamline the process, improve accuracy and curtail abuses. How do the measures and incentives introduced in Malta to assists SMEs compare to other countries in the EU? While it might be interesting to com- pare different aid packages from a tech- nical point of view, we will not gauge our success in assisting businesses merely via this comparison. Some quarters have stated that our aid package compares very well with that of other EU states and that the rapid and effective disbursement of funds surpasses what has been experi- enced in the remainder of Europe. However, what is most important is to assess how our businesses are respond- ing to this support. Indeed, we have li- aised, discussed and debated with our social partners in order to iron out the most realistic, balanced and effective deal that we could provide. is discus- sion will continue; we have already re- vised our measure and we shall continue if needs be to improve our aid. We started off by improving liquidity via deferring the payment of taxes and offering guaranteed and low interest loans but we have also directly inter- vened to preserve human capital and re- sources. In order not to let the internal capacity of our businesses to dissipate and with an aim to provide a social safety net for employees. We are also cushioning off the direct effect of Covid-19 related changes by refunding moneys paid by employers on obligatory Quarantine leave and reduc- ing their spend on facilitating telework by paying for part of the costs for buying or leasing of laptops for example. Our eyes are set on what we can achieve in this downtime rather than what will be lost. In spite of the global crisis we are in, there are opportunities on which we want to capitalise. It's in this spirit that we have launched an RDI fund for Covid-19 related projects and are shap- ing a proper economic strategy based on tangible niche market opportunities that will help us spring board when the 'new' normality is restored. So far, the measures launched by the Government have been very success- ful as redundancies have been kept to a minimum which also reflects a sense of confidence in what is being done. Have any SMEs shut down since the social distancing measures were introduced? SMEs are the largest segment of com- pany types in Malta and we as Malta Enterprise do indeed give them the im- portance that they deserve. rough our one stop shop 'Business First' which we run alongside the Chamber of SMEs we tender services to these businesses all year round. From the outset of this pandemic we kept abreast with their changing circum- stances in order to devise relevant sup- port. We know very well that the effects of the pandemic have been very harsh for some of the businesses. ere have been businesses that have temporarily ceased operations until the timeframes of the pandemic effect are clearer. We will endeavor to keep track of the developments at every juncture 'A trusthworthy and organised He was appointed CEO of Malta Enterprise in August 2019 and - a couple of months later - he's leading efforts to help business stay afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic and its effects. KURT FARRUGIA talks to BusinessToday about what is being done to help ailing SMEs and to make sure Malta hits the ground running once the pandemic is over

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