The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) has signed a financing contract worth EGP 100m with Irada Microfinance, to provide the necessary funding for microenterprises in several governorates.
Yehia Aboul Fotouh, Deputy Chairperson of NBE, said that the bank pays great attention to microenterprises, and aims to reach all segments of the market, including informal projects, in an effort to integrate them into the formal sector.
Aboul Fotouh praised the cooperation with Irada for financing microenterprises, which confirms NBE’s continuous keenness on providing the necessary financing for institutions, to be re-lent to the beneficiaries of the company’s projects in various governorates. This is because of its impact on contributing to the eradication of unemployment, by providing jobs, as well as improving the standard of living for individuals, and its impact on increasing the national product.
Amr Abul-Azm, CEO, Managing Director, and founding partner of Irada, expressed his pride in the fruitful cooperation with NBE. It is the largest financial institution supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Tarek Hassan, Head of the Small and Medium Enterprises Group at the NBE, said that the bank was one of the first to contract with the company in the field of financing micro-enterprises, in addition to the bank’s endeavor to cooperate with the company in the field of electronic services. This happens by allowing exchange for the company’s customers using Meeza cards, within the framework of supporting the financial inclusion system.
Saad Mohieldin, Head of the SMEs Sector at the NBE, indicated that the total financing available from NBE to microfinance for the purpose of re-lending it for this type of projects amounted to about EGP 7bn by the end of March 2023 for 56 microfinance institutions, of which about one million clients benefited.
