The Industrial Development and Workers Bank of Egypt's SME finance portfolio surged by EGP 170 million, registering EGP 315 million in September 2012, up from EGP 145 million in September 2011. The bank plans to sign two finance contracts with the Social Fund for Development (SFD) for financing SMEs by next month, said Hamdi Azzam, board member at the bank. The first contract is worth EGP 100 million which will go for the debit current account and the second contract is worth EGP 25 million which will go for live stock projects and food industries, he noted. After signing a franchise finance contract worth EGP 30 million with SFD, the bank approved to offer franchise finance worth EGP 5 million to a customer planning to have a food-franchise business. The customer has an outlet selling food for factories and companies in Obour City and plans to establish 20 outlets, equipped with fridges and all other requirements, Azzam added. In addition, the bank received a loan amounting to EGP one billion from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) which will go for SMEs. The Industrial Development and Workers Bank of Egypt posted a profit of EGP 36 million at the end of last August, up from EGP 28 million at the end of June, thanks to its efforts in financing SMEs and expanding in retail banking products.
