Banks finance SMEs with LE 110B: CBE

CAIRO – 7 November 2018: Banks have directed LE 110 billion to finance small and medium enterprises since the start of the Central Bank's initiative to direct 20 percent of the bank's financing to this sector until June 2018, according to Assistant Sub-Governor of the Central Bank's Banking Reform Sector, Nermine el-Tahri.

“Beside this amount, the banks provided large funds to SMEs before the initiative, and funding is still available to the sector from inside and outside the banking system,” she added.

Tahri noted that LE 2 billion were directed to the Risk Guarantee Company to encourage the financing of emerging projects.

This came during the opening of a conference held by the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies entitled: "Entrepreneurship in Egypt: From individual successes to local attraction in the African continent".

Tahri stressed that the banks were not previously prepared for this type of funding, and are currently working to provide a certificate specially for the entrepreneurship of banks' employees to promote this culture.

“Starting 2019, there will be points of contact in branches. The bank is currently working on this program with about 13 banks. It is expected to start with two branches next year. All this will be linked to one database with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority to build a unified database in Egypt,” according to Tahri.

Tahri added that there are many investment funds that work to finance small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs, stressing that this is the role of the private sector and the banking sector is working to provide support through funding.