France’s AFD funds women-owned micro enterprises with $2 mln

The French Development Agency (AFD) signed an agreement with Egypt’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) and the Agriculture Bank of Egypt on Thursday to provide women-owned microenterprises in Egypt with $1.94 million.

The agreement will play a key role in empowering Egyptian women, by improving their economic status and allowing them to live a decent life, said Hala Elsaid, the Minister of Planning, during the signing ceremony.

The agreement will fund the Bab Rizq initiative, which is part of the National Project for Development of the Egyptian Family, according to the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

The agreement will be fund about 3,000 microenterprises, prioritising enterprises owned by women living in villages across 20 governorates, which are the target of the Haya Karima presidential initiative, said Basel Rahmy, CEO of MSMEDA.

The agreement will provide up to $3,200 per loan and wider customer access via the bank’s extensive branch network, especially in rural areas, Rahmy added.

MSMEDA and the Agriculture Bank of Egypt have financed 20,000 microenterprises, with contracts worth up to five million dollars, used as revolving loans, and $5.2 million disbursed through the bank’s branches nationwide, Rahmy mentioned.

Elsaid added that the National Project for Family Development is planning an expansion of positive incentives, including financial incentives like insurance policies that provide women with up to $1,944, .