Ahmed Al-Ansari, Governor of Fayoum, received on Tuesday Basil Rahmi, CEO of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA); Alaa Farouk, Chairperson of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE), and a delegation from MSMEDA and the bank. The meeting’s objective was to discuss potential cooperation to boost their financial and non-financial services.
During the meeting, the Governor of Fayoum praised the close and fruitful cooperation between the governorate, MSMEDA and ABE to provide integrated services for the small and micro enterprises sector in the governorate, as well as their role and effective contribution to implementing the presidential initiative to develop the Egyptian countryside “Haya Karema”. He also pointed out the importance of integrating handicrafts into these projects as Fayoum governorate is characterized by its formal economy, training and networking with various marketing platforms.
Al-Ansari stressed that the governorate is working to coordinate with various state agencies to work on providing various aspects of support for the small and micro-enterprise sector, in implementation of the directives of the political leadership to develop this sector and increase its contribution to the national economy.
The Egyptian governorate is keen on continuously identifying any challenges that the owners of these projects face, and is constantly working to develop permanent solutions for their problems.
For his part, Basil Rahmi said that the agency is discussing with the governorate increasing ways of cooperation for the maximum benefit from natural resources in the governorate. Through these discussions, the agency hopes to help citizens utilize their resources to establish new projects in various industrial, commercial and service sectors.
“The agency is developing mechanisms to enhance the provision of services and facilitate citizens’ access to them. This is happening through cooperation with a larger number of intermediaries, namely ABE, due to its dense geographical distribution and ability to reach the neediest groups in various governorates,” Rahmi said.
He also praised the continuous cooperation between the agency and Fayoum governorate to provide various aspects of support to the small industrial, food and production projects sector, as well as handicraft and heritage projects, which have many competitive advantages in the governorate.
He explained that MSMEDA funded about 121,000 small and micro enterprises with EGP 2.3bn in Fayoum Governorate during the period from July 2014 to June 2023, generating about 160,000 jobs.
For his part, Alaa Farouk said that the bank is keen on providing all kinds of support and financing for micro-enterprises and productive activities within the Fayoum governorate, with easy facilities and benefits. This aims to empower rural women and provide job opportunities for young people.
ABE plays a major role in achieving development in Fayoum Governorate, and its presence has become tangible and influential throughout the governorate through a network of 45 branches.
Farouk pointed out that the volume of the loan portfolio in Fayoum amounted to over EGP 1.561bn, of which about EGP 985m were for financing small, medium and micro enterprises, including agricultural loans and loans for livestock development.
