TRNC government to provide businesses with 300 million lira in concessional loans

TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel announced that in 2026 the government plans to provide farmers, tourism businesses, artisans and service-sector businesses in Northern Cyprus with concessional loans totalling around 300 million Turkish lira. A further 170 million lira has been allocated for grants in agriculture, industry, tourism and entrepreneurship.

In 2026, 109.8 million lira has been allocated to subsidise interest rates—enough to issue loans worth around 300 million. Agricultural loans account for 30 million lira, support for medium-sized tourism businesses for another 30 million, and artisans and service-sector businesses for 49.8 million lira.

Around 450 people will be able to benefit from the programmes. The loans are planned to be issued for 36 months at an annual interest rate of 20%. Applications will open once the Council of Ministers approves the programme.

Of the 170 million lira in grant funding, 50 million is earmarked for young entrepreneurs. Since 2016, 203 project creators have received grants under the entrepreneurship support programme, helping to create around 370 jobs. In total, between 2011 and 2026, 723 projects received 2,072,036,365 lira through programmes supporting the development of agriculture, tourism and competitiveness.

The government is also proposing amendments to the export promotion regulations: the support programme is to include shipments to the UK and the US, as well as raw materials and products obtained through waste processing. In 2025, TRNC exporters were reimbursed 31,960,377 lira in freight costs.

“We stand with those who produce, invest and create jobs. We are continuing to introduce support measures that open the way for the real sector and strengthen production and exports,” Üstel said.