CBE Governor signs agreement to launch Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative in Egypt

Cairo – July 3, 2024: In line with the state and its efforts to promote women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) officially signed the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Code of Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).

The document was signed by CBE Governor Hassan Abdalla in the presence of Jürgen Rigterink, First Vice President of the EBRD, Matteo Patrone, EBRD’s Vice President for Banking.

We-Fi aims to facilitate access to finance for women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in addition to providing them with the essential technical support.

Abdalla praised the launch of We-Fi in Egypt, highlighting that it aligns with the state’s vision to promote women’s financial inclusion.

The CBE governor also noted that it is inline with the central bank’s own efforts to enhance the accessibility to financing opportunities for female entrepreneurs.

The projects and initiatives launched by the CBE lately, have resulted in achieving significant progress in women's financial inclusion indicators, with the number of financially included women in Egypt reaching 20.3 million, representing a remarkable growth rate of 244 percent, from 2016 to 2023, according to a CBE release.

“The Central Bank of Egypt has led the promotion of financial inclusion, especially with regard to availing finance to micro, small, and medium enterprises led by women, with EBRD’s commitment to support the CBE in this endeavor, through implementing the We-Fi initiative under CBE’s leadership as a multilateral platform to bridge the financing gap between genders in Egypt,” said Rigterink.

The We-Fi initiative will provide technical support to build capacities of the Egyptian banking sector, financial service providers, and relevant entities – in coordination with the Egyptian Banking Institution (EBI), banks, and other state bodies.

We-Fi is a global multi-stakeholder partnership among 14 governments, 8 multilateral development banks (MDBs), and other public and private sector stakeholders, hosted by the World Bank Group. The initiative was launched by the EBRD in three Arab countries: Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan.