(No. B/892) Mr J. F. François (Second Member for Rodrigues) asked the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare whether, in regard to the Women Entrepreneur Loan Scheme, she will, for the benefit of the House, obtain information as to the – (a) terms and conditions thereof, and (b) number of applications received in the current financial year from women in mainland Mauritius and Rodrigues Island respectively, indicating the number thereof approved and total value of loans disbursed as at to date. The Deputy Prime Minister: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, following the Budget 2025- 2026, I am informed by the Development Bank of Mauritius (DBM) that the Women Entrepreneur Loan Scheme was reviewed. The maximum credit limit on the loan was raised from Rs500,000 to Rs1.2 million. The scheme is designed to provide financial assistance to women for the establishment and development of income generating activities. I am also informed that following the Budget 2025-2026, all DBM loans under the Women Entrepreneur Loan Scheme carry a moratorium of 18 months for repayments instead of 12 months, during which only interest is payable. Thereafter, capital and interest are repayable over a maximum period of five and a half years. I am further informed that eligibility for the scheme extends to women entrepreneur who have Business Registration Number, as well as companies in which women hold majority shareholding. Under the scheme, women are eligible for a maximum of Rs1.2 million at an interest rate of 0.5% per annum. Moreover, a general floating charge on the assets of the women entrepreneur is taken as guarantee. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to part (b) of the question, I am informed by the DBM Ltd. that for the period 01 July 2025 to date, for mainland Mauritius and Rodrigues, 69 applications were received altogether for a total amount of Rs40,825,550, of which Rs39,426,000 has been approved and Rs30,086,187 has been disbursed. The breakdown of these figures is as follows – (a) for mainland Mauritius, 68 applications were received for a total amount of Rs40,475,550, of which Rs39,096,000 has been approved and Rs30,086,187 has been disbursed. (b) for Rodrigues Island, one application was received on 17 March 2026 for a total amount of Rs350,000, of which Rs330,000 has been approved on 23 April 2026 and Rs287,500 has been disbursed.