The German government is planning a multi-billion euro aid package to help freelance workers and small businesses who are suffering financially because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Up to 40 billion euros for freelancers and entrepreneurs
According to reports in the German media, the federal government is putting together a “Solidarity Fund” of up to 40 billion euros, which will bail out small entrepreneurs and self-employed workers who have lost work due to the coronavirus crisis.
The new fund, which is being organised by the Ministries of Finance and Economics, will be given out in the form of direct grants and loans to sole proprietorships and other small companies who are suffering. Since they come from the government, the loans will have a low interest rate.
Government had been urged to help small businesses
There are an estimated five million self-employed people working in Germany - who stand to gain little from the government’s previous offers to help ease the financial fallout of the coronavirus crisis, which were primarily aimed at medium or large companies.
The government had therefore been called on to help solo self-employed people. The President of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Eric Schweitzer, said: “We now have to ensure the existence of self-employed workers and small businesses very quickly. With these entrepreneurs, sales fall drastically overnight, sometimes to zero.”