AlexBank, a member of Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, signed Tuesday a memorandum with the National Council for Women aimed to improve the financial inclusion of Egyptian women living in rural areas. The bank is set to develop a bundle of financial and non-financial services designed to satisfy women in business needs, NCW's chairperson Maya Morsy said in a statement released by AlexBank. It will also launch a series of products and services supported by simplified friendly processes, dedicated to result more attractive to clusters of rural areas' marginalised population, normally less incline to access the formal financial sector, Morsy added. AlexBank is the first bank to sign the memorandum which comes under the national protocol signed by Egypt's central bank and NCW during the AFI Global Policy Forum held in Sharm El-Sheikh in September. The protocol will look to define a series of initiatives to pursue actual application of the objectives indicated in the national protocol which are complying with "Egyptian National Women Strategy 2030". It aims to implement concrete steps to improve the financial inclusion of women living in rural areas while promoting an enhancement of their general level of financial literacy in addition to provide tangible support to Egyptian women in business. "This initiative will in turn help to create job opportunities especially for women and youth, also formalizing cash flows and women's savings, serving the objectives of Egypt's national programs and Egyptian National Women Strategy 2030." Dante Campioni, chief executive of AlexBank said.
