The Loden Foundation in partnership with Karuna Shechen & additional funding support by Fonds de dotation Loden Initiatives is pleased to call for business proposals from existing Loden entrepreneurs through the Loden Emergency Funding support. The programme shall support a wide range of entrepreneurial ventures that are innovative, viable and capable to scale up. It is particularly important to recover our entrepreneurs from the 2 years long shut down of the economy, retain employees and possibly create more employment and prepare businesses for a new phase of growth (eg. finance training, buying better equipment, introducing automation)
Standard Selection Process
An independent panel of judges composed of both national and international business experts will evaluate the business proposals and the applicants. Shortlisted applications will then be called for an interview in July/August 2022 at the Loden office in Thimphu, or conducted virtually. In case of changes in timing, prior notice will be given on the website.
Standard Loan Scheme and Repayment Procedure
Selected applicants will be offered interest and collateral-free loans of up to Nu.0.6 million, repayable within three years. The loan will be disbursed within two months after the final results are announced and upon fulfilling all necessary prerequisites. The selected applicants will be asked to sign a loan agreement with the Loden Foundation and also present a guarantor. The loan is disbursed in two tranches. The second tranche of the loan shall be made upon verification of the proper use of money received in the first tranche and with a positive recommendation from the project monitoring team from Loden.
What business ideas are eligible to apply?
The Loden Entrepreneurship Programme (LEP) exists to help young Bhutanese men and women who have a vision, drive and scale up a business, which is economically beneficial, socially responsible, culturally sensitive and environmentally friendly.
Eligibility Criteria:
- This funding scheme is only for existing Loden entrepreneurs.
- The applicant must not have defaulted more than 6 months before COVID-19 (Before March 2020) with Loden Foundation. More than six months of defaults are not eligible to apply. However, entrepreneurs with genuine cases on default will be considered case-by-case basis.
- NPL with other Lenders not exceeding 6 months before COVID (March 2020).
- Entrepreneurs who have court cases are not eligible.
- Businesses who received support in the previous emergency fund (2021) and those who received funding support in 2021 and 2022 from Loden are not eligible.
- Business must be active.
The proposal will be evaluated based on the following priority criteria:
- The entrepreneur must justify the need for funds.
- Provide preferences to the businesses that exhibit social responsibility (create jobs, promote local products etc.).
- Possibilities to recover from 2 years of economic downturn.
- Businesses have plans to expand or grow.
Application Process:
- Open for applications 1st July 2022
- Application closes by 15th July 2022
- Preliminary screening of proposals based on CIB report loan repayment history with Loden Foundation.
- Proposal review by a panel of judges
- Online or physical interview depending on convenience
- Agreement signing and fund disbursement
The interested applicants must submit the following documents:
- A duly filled business plan (here)
- Updated Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- The latest CIB report of the applicant and spouse (if married), is from the Credit Information Bureau of Bhutan
- Business accounts for the past two years
- Tax Clearance
- Valid Business License
Interested applicants must submit the complete set of documents via email in a single PDF file to ‘application@loden.org’
Applications submitted after 5 pm on 15th July 2022 will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the interview rounds. For any further information, you may contact Mr Lhakpa, Programme Officer, at office phone 77195599.
