A total of 153,410 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) registered in the database of the Egyptian Credit Bureau (I-Score) by the of end of 2015.
This compares to 135,323 by the end of 2014, recording an increase of 18,087 SMEs, according to the latest figures. According to I-Score, these SMEs obtained credit facilities worth EGP 17bn from banks at the end of 2015.
Approximately 14.29 million customers obtained credit facilities from banks, compared to about 12.55m customers in December 2014.
Approximately 14.13 million individual customers were registered in December 2015 compared to 12.41 million in December 2014. I-Score organised a seminar for banks and companies funding SMEs last week to discuss the new unified definition that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) introduced for SMEs.
According to the Executive ChairmanMohamed Kafafi, this new definition will have a positive impact on the provision of the required funding to the SMEs sector. This definition will unify the fundamentals and ways to handle this vital sector in all banks, thereby facilitating the dealings between SMEs and the banking sector.
The seminar highlighted procedures to follow to provide information about SMEs to or from banks to add to the company’s database, according to Managing Director Mohamed El-Houshi.
It was agreed during the seminar to begin applying executive procedures to redefine SMEs in accordance with the CBE’s new definition and to complete the process as scheduled by the CBE.
