Ridge Capital Holdings has frozen its negotiations with Misr Iran Development Bank (MIDB) over launching a fund for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) worth EGP 30m, said Ahmed Abdel-Ghany, CEO of Ridge Capital.
Abdel-Ghany attributed the decision to the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) announcement of the implementation of the president’s initiative to allocate EGP 200bn to the SMEs, sector in order to fund such enterprises at a suitable interest rate.
The banks’ role in the SMEs sector reduces the chance of success for the other funds, especially as the presidential instructions to CBE stipulate offering the loans with a declining interest rate of no more than 5% annually. Such rates are attractive to the enterprises aiming to expand, Abdel-Ghany added.
He noted that Ridge Capital, the parent company, is seeking to pump investments into the infrastructure of many countries, China being their first choice.
