Banque du Caire has allocated EGP 1.5bn to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout the next six months, according to the bank's CEO Mounir El-Zahid. El-Zahid explained in a statement on Thursday that the SMEs portfolio in the bank is estimated at more than EGP 700m as credits already used, while total approved loans reached more than EGP 1bn. "In 2015, Banque du Caire managed to provide loans estimated at EGP 2bn to SMEs, in order to implement several projects in different sectors," El-Zahid said. He added that industrial projects are considered one of the most important sectors that the bank seeks to finance, especially projects with produced components used for the industry or as import substitutes. The bank is also keen on fulfilling all financing activities in this field, including the needs of different segments of customers all over Egypt's governorates. In the same context, El-Zahid revealed that the bank had offered microenterprises loans of about EGP 1.3bn by the end of 2015. Through them, the bank managed to provide approximately 100,000 jobs for youth. He added that the bank has more than 13 years of experience in financing the sector, with a current market share of 45% in terms of financing these projects. "Banque du Caire has developed a sector specialised in serving SMEs, as well as putting plans and necessary strategies to obtain a special share in the market. The sector is also keen on selecting qualified individuals and training them in the credit field according to international standards," El-Zahid added. El-Zahid stressed that expanding in financing SMEs is one of the priorities of the bank's strategy for 2016. The strategy adopted by the bank represents its strong faith in the importance of its role to finance these projects, as they contribute to enhancing development and providing thousands of jobs. He added that the bank is working on simplifying the procedures, as well as providing credit facilities and funding needs for these projects, with payment periods that suit the needs of the activity through a network of nearly 234 branches spread all over Egypt. Moreover, the bank seeks to develop several products to cover all trade and industrial activities and to find solutions for the financial constraints that face customers. This will take place through a staff assigned to prepare a credit study to finance SMEs.
