Credit portfolio of microfinance industry hits LE21.2B by end of Q2 2019

CAIRO – 7 August 2019: The credit portfolio of microfinance industry recorded LE 21.2 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2019, marking a growth of 36.3 percent on a year-on-year basis, according to Chairman of the Egyptian Microfinance Federation Mona ZoulFakar.

ZoulFakar added that the number of beneficiaries reached 3.3 million customers with a growth rate of 14.1 percent, compared to the results of the end of the second quarter of 2018.

"We pay great attention to encouraging institutions, associations and finance companies to use non-cash payment instruments in cooperation with all concerned parties, in order to increase the efficiency of financial services and contribute to increasing financial inclusion rates,” she noted.

In a press release, the chairman of the Egyptian Microfinance Federation expected that the microfinance industry will achieve a qualitative leap by increasing the use of microfinance institutions for electronic payment tools in repaying and collecting loans, in addition to the expansion of some new products, such as financial leasing and micro-insurance.

She added that the non-governmental organizations and financial institutions topped the list of agencies working in microfinance in terms of customer base to record 1.895 million customers at the end of the second quarter of this year with a growth rate of 3.1 percent YoY.

The credit portfolio of those agencies achieved LE 6.829 billion by the end of the second quarter of 2019, with an annual increase of 21.3 percent, she added.

Microfinance companies ranked second in terms of the number of beneficiaries and the volume of the credit portfolio, reaching a customer base of 1.040 million customers at the end of the second quarter of 2019, with an increase of 41.9 percent, compared to the second quarter of 2018. The credit portfolio rose 69.1 percent, achieving LE 6.964 billion.

She added that banks granting microfinance less than LE 100,000 directly to individuals and companies took the third place in terms of the number of beneficiaries, where the customer base reached about 391,000 customers, up by 14.3 percent.

“Meanwhile, banks that ranked first in terms of credit portfolio marked a growth of 27.8 percent by registering LE 7.493 billion,” she added.