Al Baraka Bank Eyes 20% Increase In SME Finances In 2013

Al Baraka Bank of Egypt plans to launch a Musharaka SME Finance program in the next month after the bank signed a Musharaka finance agreement worth EGP 200 million with the Social Fund for Development (SFD) last year.

Sources said SMEs are on the top priorities of the bank’s strategy in 2013 as it targets to increase the SME finance portfolio, which ranges from EGP 1.1 billion to EGP 1.2 billion, by 20%.

This is the second Musharaka finance agreement signed by the bank with SFD after signing earlier a Musharaka finance agreement worth EGP 30 million in 2004.

The bank targets to expand in offering Musharaka finances as they are the most effective Islamic finances in the market.

It is worth mentioning that there are a number of banks which offer Musharaka finances such as the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) which has recently signed Musharaka finance agreement with SFD worth EGP 150 million.