Egypt - Alaa Farouk, the chairperson of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE), revealed that the bank and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) signed a financing deal of EGP 3.583bn. The financing was redirected to about 160,000 clients who own small and micro enterprises in various sectors.

Farouk stressed that the partnership between the two parties is a successful model for integration amongst state institutions to achieve sustainable development and support the national economy.

He added that these loans contributed significantly to developing rural communities. In addition, a new financing contract amounting to EGP 60m was recently signed between the two parties to support micro enterprises owned by women, within the framework of the Egyptian Family Development Initiative.

He made this statement during his visit to the governorate of Fayoum, where he was accompanied by Basil Rahmi, CEO of MSMEDA, and Ahmed Ansari, the governor of Fayoum, to inspect the training programme to empower Egyptian women in the village of Qalhana.

The Governor of Fayoum praised the constructive cooperation with major financing and banking agencies like MSMEDA and ABE, and their joint project “Bab Rizq” concerned with providing the necessary financial and technical services to women to encourage self-employment, help them establish small enterprises and create jobs. He also stressed that this project will have a positive impact on thousands of women in villages and districts, as their new projects will contribute to providing a better standard of living for them and their families.

Ansari stressed that Fayoum is working to facilitate the implementation of joint development programmes that have a positive impact on citizens, especially in poorer areas.

For his part, Rahmi said that the training programs implemented within the “Bab Rizq” contract signed with ABE have the objective of supporting women to manage their enterprises and enhance their capabilities for the management. He added that the training includes multiple aspects, including how to prepare a feasibility study, a simple business plan, and marketing mechanisms, whereby women receive theoretical and practical training.

The CEO of MSMEDA stressed the importance of cooperation with ABE. He pointed out that the size of the loan amounts to EGP 100,000, and that about 3,000 micro-projects will be financed during the project’s implementation period, in the villages of the “Decent Life” initiative in 20 Egyptian governorates, including Fayoum.

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