On October 15th, the Government of El Salvador launched the “Trust for the Economic Recovery of Salvadorian Companies – FIREMPRESA”. This trust fund seeks to provide economic resources to micro, small and medium enterprises in El Salvador, establishing special resources to support micro entrepreneurs in the informal sector who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The trust will be administered by the Banco de Desarrollo de la República de El Salvador (BANDESAL).
The Trust has three main objectives, the first being a program that would benefit from a subsidy of up to 50% of the employees’ payroll, a program of soft loans for working capital of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, and a special program aimed at the informal sector of general commerce, production of goods, cultural and artistic services.
Companies, in order to be eligible for benefits, must meet the following requirements:
- Be registered as employers with the Salvadoran Institute of Social Security (ISSS), (CONAMYPE) and/or the Registry of Taxpayers of VAT.
- That in the last form reported to the ISSS between the months of December 2019 and February 2020, they have less than 100 employees.
- That gross sales in 2019 are equal to or less than USD 7 million.
Senior Associate
García & Bodán
El Salvador