The Taipei City Government has begun offering interest-free loans of up to NT$1 million (US$340,000) to business startups set up by the city’s younger residents as part of Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) policies directed at younger constituents.
The loan, one of Hau’s campaign promises to build a better future for younger residents, is available for people between the ages of 20 and 40 who have started their own businesses within the past two years. Those who receive the subsidy do not have to begin repaying the loan for five years.
Announcing the launch of the program in a press conference yesterday, Hau said the program aimed to help young entrepreneurs achieve their dreams by giving them “their first bucket of gold.”
“We are not worried about getting the money back because we’ve given loans to small and medium-sized businesses before and only about 3 percent of the companies had troubles repaying the loans,” he said at Taipei City Hall.
Twenty-six-year-old Liao Chu-chun (廖竹珺), who applied for a loan, attended the press conference to support the program.
As an owner of a Neihu District (內湖) tea shop, Liao said the loan program would be a great help for younger business owners like her, adding that she expected the city to offer more such programs to encourage young people to start their own businesses.
“The risk of starting a business is much higher for young people like myself because we don’t have much money. Interest-free loans are very helpful for small businesses,” she said.
Chen Hsiung-wen (陳雄文), commissioner of city’s Department of Economic Development, said the loans will be offered to a total of 600 people and the program would cost about NT$60 million.
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