CAIRO: USAID/Egypt, BNP Paribas Bank, and Lead Foundation celebrated on Thursday, the signing of a loan agreement to support Egypt's poor and low-income entrepreneurs at a special ceremony in the Cairo offices of the Lead. Signing the agreement were James Bever for USAID, Pierre Delhaise for BNP Paribas, and Karim Fanous for the Lead Foundation. A statement by the US Embassy in Cairo said that USAID/Egypt and BNP Paribas Egypt co-guaranteed an LE 27 million loan to the Lead Foundation to expand its current program that serves small and micro enterprises. Over the course of the loan agreement, Lead Foundation is expected to provide microfinance loans to more than 400,000 borrowers. The statement noted that this will create an environment that will allow similarly situated microfinance institutions (MFIs) to attract commercial funding for loans to microenterprises and small businesses. According to the U.S. Embassy`s statement, the USAID/Egypt Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) Development program has supported Since 1990, not-for-profit business associations develop MFIs, and banks develop micro-credit and other financial products for small and micro entrepreneurs. The majority of clients are low- income, female-headed households, located in economically disadvantaged areas. “With USAID/Egypt assistance, eleven MFIs and two banks are now implementing successful micro-credit activities and are operationally sustainable” the statement added. USAID/Egypt also collaborates with microfinance industry stakeholders, including the Government of Egypt, to support legal and regulatory improvements necessary to increase the outreach and impact of Egypt's microfinance industry. To date, microfinance institutions supported by USAID/Egypt have extended more than 8.3 million micro-credit loans valued at $2.5 billion to 3.4 million small and micro entrepreneurs. These loans have had less than a two percent default rate. Approximately 300 specialized microfinance branches operating nationwide manage an outstanding loan portfolio of more than $256 million. These MFIs serve about 1.1 million clients, of which almost 65% are poor women in economically disadvantaged areas. Lead Foundation successfully serves seven Egyptian governorates through 15 main branches and has achieved operational sustainability in 2007. As of December 2010, Lead had 194,392 active clients, 87% of which were poverty loans (less than $425) and 82% of which were loans to women. It currently employs 1,031 staff and has made over 1.4 million loans to approximately 560,000 small and micro entrepreneurs. It provides over 28,000 loans to micro entrepreneurs monthly. Lead Foundation was ranked 10th in the 2009 Mix Global Ranking of 100 microfinance institutions in outreach, efficiency, and transparency. The statement concluded that BNP Paribas Egypt, is a part of the renowned BNP Paribas global network, is one of the leading multinational banks in Egypt. With a strong commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, BNP Paribas Egypt is one of the first banks in Egypt to offer financing to MFIs. To illustrate, it financed €5 million to an MFI in the Delta Region that serves more than 100,000 low-income clients; many of which are women located in disadvantaged areas. BM
