Egypt

Egyptian women who constitute half of the population, represent tremendous economic potential, while contributing to only 22.5 percent of total labor force - offer an estimated credit demand of USD283 million among female-owned SMEs.

Women entrepreneurs will benefit from the Women’s Loan, an individual loan created by the Lead Foundation, which is geared towards low-income women entrepreneurs. 

With support from Women’s World Banking and the Metlife Foundation, Lead was able to ensure women were represented and active decision-makers throughout the process. Women within the organization took the lead on marketing tactics, operational procedures and loan officer training. 

SME Finance Forum member, the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a financing agreement worth €375 million with the National Bank of Egypt to fund SME investments.

According to a release by EIB, the agreement is in line with the Economic Resilience Initiative, which promotes financial inclusion and the creation of sustainable employment opportunities in Egypt. In addition, a portion of the funds in the agreement will be allocated to women-led SMEs and SMEs in lower-developing countries.

SME Finance Forum member the European Investment Bank (EIB), has signed a financing agreement of EUR 250 million with Banque Misr to finance investments by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and midcaps in the manufacturing and services sectors to improve their competitiveness in Egypt. The financing agreement is expected to sustain thousands of jobs in Egyptian enterprises.

The Financial Times features SME Finance Forum member Fawry. Ashraf Sabry, founder and chief executive officer of Fawry, the Egypt’s oldest and biggest electronic payments company, has ambitious plans that would see Egypt’s mostly unbanked population of 94 million people carry out a broad range of financial transactions on their mobile phones.