Egypt - Mona Zulficar, Chairperson of the Egyptian Federation for Financing Medium, Small, and Micro Projects (MSMEF), announced that Egypt’s microfinance sector has seen significant growth in 2024, with total financing balances nearing EGP 100bn by the end of the year.

This growth has been attributed to improvements in the regulatory and legislative frameworks, the introduction of electronic payment systems, and the continued efforts of institutions to address the financial needs of their clients’ projects, despite challenges such as price fluctuations and rising financing costs.

Zulficar revealed that financing institutions provided funding to approximately 4.4 million clients in 2024. Of this, NGOs and civil society institutions licensed by the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) served 1.7 million clients with a total of EGP 21.7bn. Microfinance companies funded 1.9 million clients, amounting to EGP 41.5bn. Meanwhile, the banking sector extended direct financing of up to EGP 242,000 per client, reaching a total of EGP 36.7bn for 727,000 clients during the year.

Zulficar further noted that members of the federation expanded their financing of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with ten entities—nine companies and one NGO—participating. These included Tasaheel, Aman Microfinance, Waseela (the MSME arm of AUR Finance), Kredit, Tamweely Microfinance, Fawry MSME Finance, Naqood, EFG Finance, Beltone SMEs, and the Local Communities and Small Projects Development Association (El-Mobadra). These entities provided EGP 17.2bn in funding to 19,300 SME clients by the end of 2024.

The federation chairperson praised the resilience of the MSME finance sector in overcoming challenges such as high inflation and other consecutive crises. Zulficar expressed confidence in the sector’s continued efforts to reach citizens in need of financial services across Egypt, emphasizing its role in combating poverty, promoting social development, and bridging market gaps through innovative financial products.

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Hossam Mounir