AfDB in talks with NBE, CIB to fund trade, SMEs in Egypt

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is in talks with two major Egyptian banks to finance small businesses and trade in the country, a source from the African bank told Amwal Al Ghad Sunday.

AfDB is negotiating with National Bank of Egypt, the country’s largest state-run bank, and Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt’s largest private sector bank, the source said without determining the volume of the on-lent finances.

The African bank’s talks with the National Bank of Egypt are over financing the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a sector of the Egyptian economy that struggles to access finance.

Meanwhile, AfDB’s negotiations with Egypt’s CIB aimed to strengthen the African bank’s support for trade guarantee sector in the country.