CBE launches initiative to finance microenterprises at end of May

About 37,000 small and medium-sized companies received loans worth EGP 101bn between December 2015 and December 2016

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is launching an initiative to finance micro-projects at the end of May, according to Gamal Negm, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
During the opening session of the 9th annual conference of the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI) on Monday, Negm said that about 37,000 small and medium-sized companies have received loans worth EGP 101bn between the end of December 2015 and the end of December 2016.
He added that 28,000 small companies had received loans worth EGP 35bn, while about 9,000 medium companies had received loans worth EGP 66bn.
In a different context, Negm noted that banks have injected EGP 6bn to finance limited and middle-income housing through the initiative launched by the CBE to finance these segments in February 2014.
He pointed out that the size of this initiative reached EGP 10bn, which can be increased to EGP 20bn, depending on the needs of the market.
He noted that there are a number of challenges facing financial inclusion in Egypt, at the top of which is the availability of accurate data on the public and their transactions. He pointed out that the CBE itself is facing a problem in the classification of micro-loans that some banks include under personal loans, adding that the CBE is trying to solve the problem now.
He noted that the CBE is in the process of setting up instructions to protect customers dealing with banks in the framework of its keenness on ensuring the rights of citizens, which contributes to achieving financial inclusion.
He added that a report on the financial inclusion is expected to be issued by the end of 2017 to determine the objectives of the CBE in this regard.
He explained that the proceeds of banks from foreign exchange after the flotation amounted to EGP 21bn.