The United Bank has allocated EGP 200m to finance small and micro enterprises through a new service offered by the bank called Intlaka, according to chairperson of the bank Ashraf El-Kady.
El-Kady said that launching this service comes within the framework of activating the initiative posed by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) last week to stimulate the micro-enterprise sector. It also comes within the framework of strengthening the role of the small and micro enterprises sector in increasing the production of local components and, thus, achieving a boom in the Egyptian industry and local output, he added.
“The microfinance sector financing for economic, productive, service, and commercial purposes aims to encourage the contribution of certain groups, including women, youth, and low-income groups, to participate in economic activity and state-building, especially in this important period of the country’s history,” El-Kady stressed.
He explained that the Intlaka programme provides customers with a number of specialised financing solutions in most economic, service, commercial, and productive activities, either in traditional financing methods or in accordance with Sharia Law.
He added that the bank will provide these funds directly and indirectly through companies specialised in this type of funding, which covers all parts of the republic and also through the Social Fund for Development.
He pointed out that the United Bank aims to develop the Egyptian industry based on small, medium, and micro industries serving the main industry to move the economy. “This secures real employment opportunities for young people, improving the average income of the Egyptian citizen, and builds models for assembling industries, instead of reliance on imported foreign components, which saves hard cash,” he said.
Morover, El-Kady added that, in order to achieve this objective, the bank has created a number of financing tools for each industry or craft, such as financing craftsmen and small and micro workshops, to manufacture the basic components of furniture products in the new Damietta Furniture City.
He noted that the United Bank is studying the possibility of joining the activity of the participatory economy to other economic activities that the bank funds, especially as this activity seemed to attract a large segment of the community, especially the youth and women, relying on a range of tools available and modern technological applications.
He explained that these types of projects started to penetrate the Egyptian society and take several forms, including food and crafts, and these types of activities are based on micro-projects, which constitute a real opportunity to support this promising sector.
