Egypt's Commercial International Bank (CIB) launched its flagship Sustaining SME programme at the SMEs Business Solutions Summit on Wednesday. The programme targets the integration of ESG principles into Egypt's small- and medium-sized enterprises across different sectors as well as the development of innovative sustainable finance products tailored to cater to the needs of SMEs and corporates. During the opening panel of the summit, which was held by CIB, Hany Al-Deib — Head of the Business Banking Segment at CIB — stated: "The strategy of CIB's Sustaining SMEs programme represents an ambitious endeavour to transform the culture of doing business in Egypt towards sustainability. The programme primarily targets SMEs, providing them with full support to create green and responsible business models that contribute to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Egypt's 2030 Vision." Following the success of the CIB's Sustaining Sectors programme — a platform tailored to support corporates to integrating sustainability within their business model to achieve inclusive growth — the bank is seeking to mainstream the system transformation across Egypt's SME landscape. In recognition of the role of SMEs in promoting the economic and social development of the country, the CIB has been committed to providing its financial and technical support to sustainably grow as well as adopt a resilience that aligns with consistently evolving regulatory and climate challenges. The bank also recently launched its Sustainable Finance facility — a new SME tailored facility structure seeking to better serve and enable companies to integrate sustainability practices across their operations, primarily focusing on three sectors — renewable energy, water efficiency, as well as pollution prevention and Control. Furthermore, the CIB is committed to providing a holistic framework of support to enable Egypt's SMEs gain wider access to funding. Through the Sustaining SMEs programme, the bank is seeking to avail knowledge-based support and capacity building opportunities to Egyptian SMEs primarily focused on ESG principles. The bank recognises the role financial institutions play in shaping dialogues, perceptions, and the ecosystem by which SMEs are built to continuously grow. Accordingly, the programme aims to ensure their growth alongside global and ever evolving sustainability standards.
