Microfinance sector grows 23% in 1H 2017

CAIRO – 6 August 2017: Microfinance activities continued growth over the first half (1H) of 2017, recording LE 5.5 billion ($309 million), a 23 percent increase compared to LE 4.48 billion in 2H 2016.

The number of beneficiaries from microfinance initiatives in that period increased 10 percent, registering L.E 1.8 million, Head of Egyptian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA) Sherif Samy said in a Sunday statement.

The report showed that females represented 52.4 percent of microfinance beneficiaries, while their financing balances reached 70.3 percent of the total market.

Microfinance is characterized by the existence of crowdfunding and individual lending. The total number of beneficiaries of crowdfunding represented 73 percent of total financing balances, compared to 27 percent for individual lending.

Earlier this month, EFSA disclosed the first digital map for microfinance that shows the licensed bodies that practice microfinance.

The map includes licensed companies, communities and civil organization, along with their activities in different governorates. It also lists the branches of the macro-financial bodies, their addresses, the number of clients and the value of finance in each governorate.