Four major banks join Egypt’s consumer-spending stimulation initiative

Four banks, the largest in Egypt, are joining the country’s consumer-spending initiative, which will provide customers with a wide range of goods at discounts ranging between 15-25 percent.

The National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, and the Commercial International Bank (CIB-Egypt) will provide customers willing to purchase goods with funding, including a monthly interest rate of 1 percent.

The maximum limit for borrowing is about 25,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,564) for unbanked customers and 100,000 pounds for bank customers, with repayments for a period of up to 24 months.

The Egyptian government has launched the initiative on Sunday, aiming to stimulate consumption and local trade, which will double production at factories, and thus increase employment rates, and according will be reflected on the economy through raising growth rates and creating job opportunities.

The initiative will be for three renewable months. All consumers – Egyptian and foreign residents alike – can buy goods including electronics, appliances, clothes, leather products, and furniture either through a dedicated website set up by the government or in stores and supply chains, with discounts of up to 20 percent.

It will involve around 1,178 retailers and 4,231 products.