Promipyme and Culture launch fund for RD $500 million

Santo Domingo—The National Council for the Promotion and Support of Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (Promipyme) and the Ministry of Culture yesterday launched an initial fund of RD$500 million to promote the development of the country’s creative economy.

The director of Promipyme, Fabricio Gómez Mazara, said that the fund will offer loans under favorable conditions, such as interest rates of 12% per year, terms of up to 60 months, and up to three months of grace to start payments.

He explained that the initiative, which resulted from in-depth discussions with the Ministry of Culture, seeks to strengthen an economy that the financial sector has not traditionally prioritized due to regulatory restrictions.

He said that artists and all those who work in the creative industry will improve their “credit score” to the extent that they realize that financing their shows is beneficial.

Gómez Mazara said the first phase will be focused on financing people and companies that develop activities linked to the orange economy, such as festivals, design, audiovisual production, performing arts and crafts, and musical instrument manufacturing. He stressed that the initiative is part of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and MSMEs with special services policy.

For her part, the Minister of Culture, Milagros Germán, considered that the fund claims a new and fresh look at the country’s cultural policy and cultural economy.

He recalled that access to financing has been one of the greatest historical challenges for the culture sector. For decades, artists and creative entrepreneurs have faced structural barriers that limit their ability to transform their talent into economic sustainability.

Germán explained that the soft financing plan will seek to correct the historical iniquities present in the cultural sector.

He considered that the initiative’s impact goes beyond its economic impact, as it seeks to transform the way in which the cultural sector is managed.