Elsayed Elkosayer, the chairperson of the Principal Bank for Development and Agriculture Credit (PBDAC), and Nevine Al-Game'a, secretary general of the Social Fund for Development (SFD), signed on Wednesday a financing contract over EGP 100m to be obtained by PBDAC for the financing of agricultural and livestock projects and new small irrigation systems in all governorates. The funding will be provided through the World Bank's agreement signed with the SFD in 2014, worth $300m. The funding obtained by the PBDAC will be provided to finance the purchase of new and used machines and provide working capital, as well as to contribute to the equipment necessary for projects in the agricultural and livestock sectors, related activities, and projects related to the application of micro-irrigation based systems. According to Al-Game'a, it is expected to provide 854 loans to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through this contract, aiming to provide permanent and temporary job opportunities to the owners of SMEs and their employees. She added that the volume of contracts signed with the PBDAC amounts to EGP 2.46bn, and it was fully disbursed to finance more than 120,000 loans for new and existing SME projects. She pointed out that the PBDAC of Egypt owns a wide network of branches, which makes it capable of reaching all segments of customers across villages in all governorates. On the sidelines of the signing of the contract, Elkosayer revealed that the bank's deposits reached EGP 41bn by the end of March, while the size of loans amounted to EGP 3.5bn. He noted that the bank accredited the budget of the last fiscal year, and a general assembly will be held during the coming period to develop a plan to merge the bank's branches in Upper and Lower Egypt. He added that the bank will focus on raising the efficiency of assets during the coming period and that it made an inventory of all the assets owned by the bank. The bank is studying how to exploit its assets in a manner that brings good returns to the bank. The PBDAC supports the agricultural sector and products that reduce imports from abroad, and it aims to introduce the smart farmer card, according to Elkosayer. Elkosayer disclosed that the bank has injected EGP 700m to finance 10,000 projects within the "Your Project for Micro-Financing" initiative. He said that the bank is currently coordinating with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the Egyptian Countryside Development Company, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), and Banque Misr to launch a special product for the beneficiaries of the 1.5 million acre reclamation project.
