The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Bank Audi – Egypt have signed a $30 million to support small and medium enterprises (SME's) in Egypt. Although SMEs represent the majority of active private enterprises in Egypt and contribute 75 percent of total employment, access to finance remains a key concern and resolving this issue has become a top priority for the authorities. The EBRD credit line loan will help increase the availability of finance to small enterprises and will assist Bank Audi sae - Egypt to expand its SME lending activities in Egypt. Philip ter Woort, the EBRD Director for Egypt, said: "the EBRD considers SME's as the backbone of the economy and we focus on strengthening them across all our countries of operations. We are pleased to partner with Bank Audi sae - Egypt to provide more finance to smaller enterprises and to help increasing job opportunities." Hatem Sadek, Chairman and Managing Director - Bank Audi Egypt, said: "since the start of our operations in Egypt, Bank Audi sae was fully aware of the SME significance to the Egyptian Economy and Society leading us to establish a new strategic model serving this sector. Partnering with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will further enhance our strategy to grow especially in the SME segments." Mr. Mohamed Fayed, Deputy Chairman & Managing Director - Bank Audi sae - Egypt, said: "SME's growth is one of Bank Audi's strategic objectives in which we are building a full business model enabling us to properly approach and finance this segment that would affect and reflect positively on the Egyptian economy and accordingly support the GDP growth, improve the employment ratio and build new business." Mohamed Latif, General Manager of the Financial Institutions – Bank Audi Egypt, highlighted that this agreement is just the beginning of a long-term partnership in many aspects between the two institutions and that there are various aspects for further cooperation with EBRD. To date, the EBRD has invested more than €1.7 billion in Egypt in 33 projects (including regional ones) since it started working in the country at the end of 2012. The Bank's investments include the natural resources sector, the financial sector, agribusiness, manufacturing and services as well as infrastructure projects such as power, municipal water and wastewater and contributions to the upgrade of transport services.
