Sixty-eight cooperative societies received this morning, their Letter of Award, to avail of Grant Schemes for Cooperative Societies offered by the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives. The ceremony was held in presence of the Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Ms Naveena Ramyad, at Les Suites by the Docks, Caudan, Port-Louis.

In her address, Minister Naveena Ramyad recalled that seven new Grant Schemes for cooperative societies for the year 2024-2025 were launched in August 2024, and in line with the Ministry's new dynamic approach to review applications expeditiously, the 68 beneficiaries were selected out of 200 applicants. For this endeavour, informed the Minister, Rs 16 million out of the envelope of Rs 21 million earmarked by Budget 2024-25, will be utilised.

The Cooperatives Minister urged other cooperatives societies to submit their applications for approval to benefit from the Grants, pledging that the Ministry is committed to ensure that all cooperatives alike are given equal access and opportunity to avail of these.

Speaking about the Grant Schemes, Ms Naveena Ramyad remarked that they have been tailored according to the different needs of Cooperative societies, and will contribute to boost their economic activities, generate more revenue and build resilience.

Furthermore, the Minister renewed her unflinching support to cooperative societies, stating that Government recognises their contribution to the country's economic growth.

The grant schemes are: Waste Recycling Scheme; Boost to Local Production Scheme; Livestock Farming Scheme; Zero Budget Natural Farming Scheme; Seedling Production Scheme; Digitisation Scheme; and Barcode Scheme.