Egypt's Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) signed a 20 million ($11 million) Egyptian pounds loan with Plus Leasing for developing new and current SMEs in the Governorates,, Nevine Gamea, MSMEDA Director said. Gamea added that The contract aims to re-lend SMEs on a leasing basis and to finance leasing business equipment, devices and vehicles. Under the deal, Plus Leasing will sign 44 contracts with SMEs, expecting to create 220 new job opportunities, Gamea said. The total value of each contract that will be signed between the company and the lessor may reach a miximum of one million pounds. MSMEDA, the Governmental entity responsible for SMEs projects in Egypt, offers funds to SMEs projects, either directly or through banks acting as mediators. The agency also offers direct loans outside the banking system because the values are relatively small. With regards to the insolvency rate, around 5 percent of the participants will be unable to repay the loans.
