In an effort to help bolster small businesses in Egypt and Jordan, an independent US government agency Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has secured some $500 million in loans. OPIC agreed to guarantee loans by local banks to small and medium-sized enterprises, microfinance institutions, non-banking financial institutions and other approved borrowers for up to $250 million each for Egypt and Jordan, it said in a statement on its website. The project is meant to “spur growth, create jobs and support democratization in the Middle East and North Africa,” it said. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), there are approximately two million small and medium-size businesses in the region and most have little to no access to credit. The loans are part of a pledge made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a trip to Egypt and Tunisia in March to provide up to $2 billion in financial support to help the private sector to grow, OPIC said. BM
