The Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE) has affirmed its commitment to supporting the development process in Sinai, to improve the living standards and quality of life of its people, especially in the rural and Bedouin communities. This is in line with the national strategy for the development and reconstruction of Sinai, following the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
As part of this commitment, the bank implemented an integrated program to support vulnerable families in the cities of Al-Tur and Nuweiba. The program included a financial inclusion conference, a comprehensive medical convoy, a celebration of facilitating girls’ marriage, and the distribution of ration vouchers that benefited thousands of families from the South Sinai governorate. The program was attended by Khaled Fouda, Governor of South Sinai; Alaa Farouk, Chairperson of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE); Abdel Salam El-Gabaly, Head of the Senate agriculture and irrigation committee, and several bank leaders and governorate officials.
The strategy of ABE in achieving development in Sinai is based on several pillars, such as:
Providing financing programs with flexible facilities and benefits, to support producers in the fields of agricultural and animal production, and financing small and micro-production activities for craft products and traditional handicrafts that are unique to Sinai. This aims to create job and employment opportunities.
Raising awareness of financial inclusion to empower the women of Sinai and educate them on the importance of micro-activities in enhancing their living standards and increasing their family income.
Supporting the most vulnerable and needy families, as well as supporting the state’s efforts to provide social protection for these groups and help them cope with the high costs of living and life requirements, by distributing food contributions and essential food supplies for their families.
Contributing to providing healthcare to the disadvantaged Sinai families by organizing medical convoys that include a group of doctors from various specialties, and providing free medications to patients.
To implement this strategy in Sinai, the senior management of ABE, led by Alaa Farouk, is keen to monitor the implementation of these efforts on the ground through regular visits and meetings with the governors of South and North Sinai, to strengthen cooperation efforts between the bank and the executive bodies, and to emphasize the bank’s role in contributing to achieving comprehensive development in Sinai.
Regarding the bank’s role in achieving development in Sinai, Farouk stressed the bank’s dedication to achieving development in all fields.
Farouk said that the bank is putting all its resources into supporting the people of Sinai and achieving comprehensive and sustainable economic development, in accordance with the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, by motivating them to work and produce and making all types of financing available to help them launch productive activities with great facilities and benefits. This aims to provide a decent life, achieve economic empowerment for Sinai women, provide job opportunities for youth, and improve the living standards for all Sinai citizens.
The Chairperson of ABE stated that the bank is committed to empowering Sinai women, considering the governorate’s unique characteristics and demographics. He said that the bank offers the “Bab Rizq” microfinance programme in collaboration with the governorate’s agencies, the National Council for Women, and NGOs, to support women’s projects, handicrafts, and traditional crafts that the governorate is known for. He added that the bank organizes financial inclusion conferences to increase women’s financial literacy and awareness of the benefits of micro-productive activities for their living standards and family income. He also mentioned that the bank has work teams that visit villages and Bedouin communities across the governorate.
Khaled Fouda, Governor of South Sinai, praised ABE’s vital national role in the current stage through its participation and social responsibility to assist the citizens and residents of the governorates. He emphasized the importance of enhancing the bank’s efforts to achieve development in the governorate by supporting and financing women’s projects and small industries. He also highlighted the bank’s initiatives to convert taxis to run on natural gas, replace cars with electric cars, and contribute to the scrapping of old cars in the governorate.
