The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has participated in financing and implementing numerous key projects in the fields of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial inclusion. These unwavering efforts fall within the framework of the “New Beginning for Human Development” initiative launched by the Ministerial Group for Human Development in the presence of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, which will run for 100 days.
Hassan Abdalla, Governor of the CBE, emphasized: “The CBE is keen to support the state’s endeavours across all sectors by launching a series of leading initiatives to advance society and improve the citizens’ quality of living. Our participation in the “New Beginning for Human Development” initiative aims to implement several promising projects that effectively impact health, education, and financial inclusion. This contributes to achieving the initiative’s goals which represent a model for fruitful cooperation among all state entities to facilitate the services’ accessibility for citizens.”
The efforts undertaken by the CBE in the “New Beginning for Human Development” initiative encompass a wide range of activities that are executed by the CBE’s CSR Department and funded by the banking sector. These include implementing projects in the health and education fields, most notably:
- The “Eliminating Waiting Lists” initiative, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Medical Emergencies, Genetic and Rare Diseases Fund, which aims at performing various surgeries, including stent placement, angioplasty, and open-heart surgeries. In addition, the initiative focuses on providing 4000 joints for orthopaedic surgeries, covering corneal transplant surgeries across all governorates, and funding several surgeries in various specialities.
- The “Development of University Hospitals” initiative involves funding the construction of new hospital buildings, upgrading existing facilities, or equipping them with the necessary medical devices. The initiative aims at revamping several university hospitals, including Cairo University and Ain Shams University, as well as the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
- An initiative to establish and equip the first National Liver Transplant Center in Egypt and the Middle East, at Mansoura University.
- The “Your Health is a Commitment” (Sehetak Amana) initiative, in collaboration with the Baheya Foundation, aims to provide early detection service and free treatment of breast cancer.
- An initiative to upgrade 100 specialized technical schools in collaboration with the Federation of Egyptian Industries and the Ministry of Education.
- An initiative to provide (fully – partially) funded scholarships in several Egyptian universities.
The CBE’s contribution to the “New Beginning for Human Development” initiative extends to various activities carried out by the Financial Inclusion sector, encompassing financial inclusion events during September, October, and December 2024, in addition to the participation of the banking sector in the “Decent Life” initiative. During these events, banks are allowed to: be present outside their branches across all governorates, open bank accounts without fees and with no minimum account balance, issue prepaid cards, open mobile wallet accounts, promote banking products, and avail finance to micro-enterprises. Furthermore, the financial inclusion events support the dissemination of financial literacy and awareness to the public, in coordination with relevant ministries, state entities, and institutions.
