EIB provides NBE €375M to support Egypt’s SMEs

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Thu, 02 Aug 2018 - 03:52 GMT

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Thu, 02 Aug 2018 - 03:52 GMT

During Signing the agreement - Press Photo

During Signing the agreement - Press Photo

CAIRO – 2 August 2018: The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced signing a financing agreement worth €375 million ($437.85 million) with the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) by the end of July to fund investments by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in Egypt.

The European Bank clarified in a statement that this agreement is expected to sustain over 20,000 jobs in Egyptian firms, noting that a percentage of the financing will target firms owned or run by women (“Women in Business”) as well as enterprises located in less-developed areas of Egypt.

According to the statement, this agreement aims at enhancing the prospects for more resilient and inclusive growth in Egypt through financial inclusion and the creation of sustainable employment opportunities, particularly for women and in less-developed areas.

“The new agreement will help to provide the finance needed for private sector development in most governorates of Egypt. It will also seek to empower women and improve their access to finance,” Director of EU Neighboring Countries at the EIB Flavia Palanza said.

“As the bank of the European Union, our aim is to contribute to building a stronger and more resilient economy in Egypt, as well as in the region, that creates more opportunities resulting in additional jobs and increased prosperity for the population,” Palanza added.

For his part, Chairman of NBE Hisham Okasha said that this loan will assist in creating new job opportunities in the private sector as well as contribute to greater inclusion.

“NBE’s policy continues to be geared towards supporting the private sector with special focus placed on the growing SME sector, where our portfolio has reached a high of approximately LE 44 billion as of June 2018,” Okasha added.

On June 25, EIB and Bank of Alexandria (Alexbank) signed Monday a financing agreement worth €20 million to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt.

Since 2009, the European Investment Bank provided financing of €1.3 billion for SMEs and mid-caps in Egypt, 56 percent was for the manufacturing sector.

The EIB’s portfolio in Egypt represents €4.2 billion in public and private sector financing.

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