The value of Egypt's microfinance portfolio increased by 36 percent during Q2 2019 registering 21.2 billion, the Egyptian Microfinance Federation (EMF)'s head Mona Zulficar said. In addition, the number of beneficiaries has increased by 14.1 percent reaching 3.3 million clients, Zulficar added. Zulfiqar further expected that the microfinance industry will achieve a leapt through increasing the usage of electronic payment tools in repaying and collecting loans, in addition to the expansion in launching new products of leasing finance and micro-insurance. NGOs and associations are ranked first in terms of total financing and number of clients in the aforementioned period, with a total active portfolio of 6.8 billion pounds and an active customer base of 1.895 million capturing 35.4 percent growth rate. Meanwhile, companies were second in terms of total beneficiaries with total number of 1.040 clients by the end of second quarter and with the volume of credit portfolio granted to clients registering 6.9 billion pounds which accounted to 69.1 percent growth rate. However, banks that grant microfinance less than 1,000 pounds directly to companies and individuals came in third place in terms total beneficiaries with active customer base of 391,000 and first in terms of thevolume of credit portfolio granted to clients registering 7.4 billion pounds with a growth rate of 27.8 percent.
