The agreements were signed by Mohamed Medhat, MSMEDA's vice executive president, and Ayman Khattab, head of financial institutions at Banque du Caire. The signing was attended by MSMEDA CEO Basil Rahmy and Banque du Caire Managing Director and CEO Hussein Abaza.
Rahmy said the agreements aim to expand micro-enterprise
financing in line with the country's directives to support small businesses,
particularly for women and young people, MSMEDA CEO Basil Rahmy said.
The goal is to help business owners develop their projects,
increase productivity, access foreign markets, and create jobs. This will
contribute to economic growth and improve living standards, he added.
Rahmy said the new contracts are a key tool for economic and
social development, promoting financial inclusion by integrating
micro-enterprise owners into the formal economy and facilitating their access
to financial and non-financial services.
The maximum financing for a single beneficiary under the
contracts is 500,000 pounds (about $10,500), offering "significant
flexibility to meet business needs and expand activities," he noted.
The first contract provides funding to informal
micro-enterprises to help them transition into the formal economy and access
government incentives. The second contract offers soft loans for existing
micro-enterprises looking to develop, expand or upgrade, aiming to boost
production and increase competitiveness.
Banque du Caire's Vice Executive President, Bahaa El-Shafie,
praised the bank's ongoing partnership with MSMEDA, which has financed
thousands of projects. He said the new agreements will create more job
opportunities and contribute to sustainable economic and social
development.
El-Shafie highlighted the bank's role as a leader in
microfinance in Egypt, with over 20 years of experience. He said the bank's
microfinance projects have created 1.3 million jobs. According to El-Shafie,
51% of the bank's microfinance clients are in Upper Egypt, with women making up
35% and youth accounting for 54%.
Mohamed Medhat of MSMEDA stated that the contracts are
expected to finance about 5,300 micro-enterprises nationwide, with a focus on
supporting women and youth.
Ayman Khattab of Banque du Caire affirmed the bank's
commitment to providing funding to those most in need to help them join the
formal economy and increase their productivity, in line with Egypt's goals for
financial inclusion and sustainable development.
The collaboration between MSMEDA and Banque du Caire began in 2012, financing over 862,000 micro-enterprises with a total value of 16.5 billion pounds (about $347 million) through revolving loans worth 4.3 billion pounds (about $90 million).