Ogen – Social Loan Fund has launched a new fast-track low-interest loan for small businesses to ease the fallout from the coronavirus shutdown. Ogen, which is in the process of becoming Israel’s first full-service not-for-profit social bank is offering a life-saving injection of funds for businesses in immediate need who are too small for the government’s multi-billion-shekel relief program.
Over the past week, Israel has essentially shut down in order to slow the spread of the virus and save lives. Schools and kindergartens are closed for the next 5 weeks. All public gatherings have been blocked, shutting down office life almost entirely. All cultural institutions are closed to the public. Air travel has all but ceased and public transport is operating at a bare minimum. Restaurants and all entertainment and leisure venues have been shut and malls are shuttered.
Industries like tourism and leisure are expected to be hit hardest from this crisis with flights and businesses brought to a standstill as the country struggles to slow the spread of COVID-19. Israel’s Finance Ministry forecasts losses of NIS 45 billion ($12 billion) for Israeli businesses. Although the government has announced a number of measures to inject cash flow into small businesses, many will still need considerable working capital to keep them afloat.
Ogen, formerly known as the Israel Free Loan Association, has lent over $330,000,000 to underprivileged Israelis over the last thirty-years and offers a full range of both interest-free and low-interest loans for individuals, non-profit organization and small businesses. In addition, Ogen’s Keren-Shemesh coaching program for young small business entrepreneurs is vital to help mentor business owners through times of crisis.
The new fast-track coronavirus relief program will issue working capital loans of up to NIS 100k to businesses affected by the crisis. Ogen’s goal is to provide support for existing small businesses, with revenues of up to NIS 5M and that able to demonstrate healthy cash flow prior to the pandemic. The loans will be offered at a fixed 5% interest rate, require one guarantor and will be repaid over a 5-year period. Best of all, in order to ease the burden on businesses in the short term while the crisis persists, repayments will be reduced to just NIS 500 per month for the first six months.
“We are launching this new fast-track loan specifically with sole-proprietors in mind: the ordinary people working in every sector of the economy, who are being hit hardest by the economic fallout from this pandemic, and have no good options to secure the working capital they need to get through this difficult time. It is always times of crisis that bring together Israeli society and Jews around the world. Ogen offers an opportunity for Israelis and lovers of Israel worldwide to carry a little of the burden for those that desperately want to work but can’t because of the Corona shutdown” said Sagi Balasha, CEO of the Ogen Group.
