The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide 20 billion yen (approximately $139.3 million) to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the two powerful earthquakes that hit southern Turkey on February 6, a senior official said.

The financing agreement was signed between JICA and the Turkish Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB), Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said in a post on the X platform, formerly Twitter.

The new funding will be provided to small and medium-sized enterprises in the earthquake zones under the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Post-Earthquake Recovery Project (MSME), which was launched in November in cooperation with the World Bank.

The earthquake-affected SMEs will receive a loan with a maturity of 36 months, a grace period for the first 24 months, and interest-free three equal installments for the remaining 12 months, Kachir said.

He emphasized that the project has provided funding for 39,680 small and medium-sized enterprises for a total of 12.8 billion Turkish liras (about $439.4 million).

On February 6, two powerful earthquakes struck 11 provinces in southern Turkey, causing significant damage and killing and injuring tens of thousands of people.

The earthquake-affected region was home to more than 470,000 private enterprises, 99% of which were micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).