The SANAD Fund for MSME (SANAD) signed a US$10 million senior loan contract with ALEXBANK. This loan, SANAD's first in Egypt, will facilitate investment and working capital loans for up to 150 local businesses and enterprises. ALEXBANK is one of Egypt's leading privately owned banks and pursues a clear strategy of serving the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) segment. Its extensive network of 180 branches and offices throughout the country makes ALEXBANK an ideal partner for increasing access to finance for small and medium enterprises, i.e. the ‘missing middle' in Egypt. Moreover, ALEXBANK's wide array of tailored products and longstanding experience with MSMEs highlights its commitment to these clients, which remain a vital component of the Egyptian economy. Highlighting this aspect, Wolfgang Reuss, Chairman of SANAD's Board of Directors, said: "We have found an ideal partner to anchor SANAD in Egypt. Building on ALEXBANK's dedicated approach towards MSMEs and its countrywide presence, we will achieve optimum outreach to our target group right from the beginning." From his side, Roberto Vercelli, CEO of ALEXBANK Intesa Sanpaolo added, "We believe that SANAD's choice of ALEXBANK to finance its first activities in the Egyptian market is a testimony to the bank's leading position in the MSME sector and its focus on broadening financial inclusiveness to all Egyptians. In a country with less than 10% banking penetration and an economy that is poised to grow, the availability of such specialized funds will be pivotal to the success of this sector." Vercelli also stated that the bank, in partnership with SANAD, plans to promote financial literacy, "One of our underlying values is that, in addition to funding, we contribute to elevating the general level of financial literacy in the market. We see our role as that of an advisor, educator and also financier. We are developing a full set of literature along with a wide number of web tools to support this initiative, which we hope will be adopted by the rest of the nation's financial institutions."
