The Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE) has signed a cooperation agreement with RIAS Consultancy of the Dutch Rabobank and the German SANAD Fund to implement the technical and structural support project of the ABE in its first phase.
The signing of the agreement was attended by Dutch Ambassador to Egypt Laurens Westhoff and representatives of the Central Bank of Egypt.
According to the ABE Chairperson Elsayed Elkosayer, the agreement aims to benefit the ABE from the experiences of the Dutch bank, which is one of the largest agricultural banks in the world, in support of the comprehensive reform and development plan implemented by the ABE, being one of the leading Egyptian banks in development to become more capable of supporting agricultural and rural development and support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The ABE aims to implement financial inclusion policies through reliance on its 1,210 branches across Egypt to meet the banking needs of 3 million clients, which the bank aims to increase to 7 million.
The tripartite cooperation agreement signed between the ABE, RIAS, and SANAD aims to support the ABE in the development of human resources, operations, strategic plan, and portfolio of products in the bank, according to a timetable extending over one year, through which the bank will achieve its objectives.
SANAD Fund was established in 2011 through several financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa to support MSMEs.
The fund has been providing financial assistance to partner institutions in the region to help build capacity, building on its strong network of partner institutions.
