The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a senior unsecured loan of up to $5m (€4.6m) to Tanmeyah Microenterprise Services under the Financial Intermediaries Framework (FIF). The loan has a tenor of 3 years, including a 1-year grace period for principal repayment.
The loan will help Tanmeyah to increase its lending to Egyptian MSMEs, focusing on underserved segments that have limited access to finance. The project will address financing gaps in the Egyptian market by allocating 50% of the EBRD’s loan to women-led or owned businesses in a gender-responsive way, building on the success of the women in-business loan that the EBRD extended to Tanmeyah in 2019.
The project supports the Competitive and Inclusive TI qualities by facilitating the expansion of Tanmeyah’s MSME lending while supporting underserved segments that have limited access to finance; and directing at least 50% of the loan amount to women-MSMEs, with a focus on regions outside Greater Cairo and Alexandria.
Tanmeyah is one of the oldest and most established companies in the Egyptian microfinance market, with over 14 years of operations. It has achieved rapid growth to become a leading entity in the field of working capital financing for low-income clients, being the 2nd largest company in terms of YE2022 outstanding portfolio, with ca. 11% market share and a total asset base of ca. EGP 4.4bn ($180m) as of December 2022.
With 306 branches nationwide located in rural and urban areas across 25 governorates, mainly in the Delta and Upper Egypt regions, Tanmeyah offers individual loans and ancillary financial services to income-generating microenterprises that have no access to traditional banking sector products and has a strong focus on women borrowers. It serves ca. 350,000 clients and employs 4,200 staff.
