Banque Misr allocated EGP 13bn to finance micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) during the fiscal year (FY) 2018/19, bringing its portfolio to EGP 24bn at the end of June 2019, up from EGP 11bn in June 2018, a 118% increase. About 121,000 clients benefited from these projects in the last FY until June 2019, up from 86,000 clients in FY 2017/18, a 41% increase, according to the bank. Moreover, the bank has participated with the Ministry of Local Development to launch the Mashrouk (Your Project) programme to finance micro and small projects at 308 administrative divisions nationwide. The bank exits in 238 administrative divisions since 26 March 2015, accounting for 77% of total administrative divisions in the programme. On Sunday, Banque Misr signed a cooperation protocol with Al-Azhar and Ain Shams universities as well as the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) to provide "design houses" (workspaces) for entrepreneurs. It comes in line with the Nile Pioneers initiative launched by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to support entrepreneurship and innovation. Chairperson of Banque Misr, Mohamed El-Etreby, said that the bank was keen to actively participate in the Nile Pioneers initiative by contributing to providing design houses for entrepreneurs, thus contributing to development and creating more job opportunities and community progress. Deputy Governor of the CBE, Lobna Helal, praised the efforts of Banque Misr in supporting the Nile Pioneers, stressing that providing design houses was the main mechanisms of the initiative which contributes to increasing the competitiveness of the local product and augmenting the percentage of the local component in manufacturing, in order to promote sustainable growth of the Egyptian economy. According to the Vice President of Banque Misr, Akef El-Maghraby, the bank is keen to diversify the objectives of the three design houses to maximise their benefits to the community as a whole. He added that the design house of Ain Shams University will serve as a link between the university and the industrial sector to provide consultancy, design services, and prototypes, and will be specialised in robotics, industrial automation, and cars. The design house of Al-Azhar University in Qena is based on the fields of agriculture, water, and energy in order to serve as the technical arm of the technological incubator to maximise the benefits of research centres, students, and young innovators and researchers from other institutes and universities so as to spread the concept of innovation. Meanwhile, the design house of the AASTMT is based on marine science and underwater techniques, in cooperation with several universities and organisations related to underwater technology. CBE Assistant Sub-Governor, Nermine El Tahri, emphasised that the new design houses are the first of its kind in Egyptian universities. She added that it works with university students, entrepreneurs, start-ups and small industrial enterprises to develop new products and build prototypes using reverse engineering and design for manufacturing, training young cadres on design principles and the latest simulation programmes, as well as evaluating and reviewing engineering designs for innovative youth.
