IDB, EBRD mull SME fund launch for Egypt, 3 Arab states

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is studying establishing a mutual fund for the small and medium-sized enterprises in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The understudy fund will be with a capital worth US$100 million, said Nazih Al-Nasser, director of asset management and advisory activities of Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a part of the IDB.

On the sidelines of a banking event in Cairo on Tuesday, Al-Nasser further told Amwal Al Ghad, that Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Jordan would benefit from the fund, which will secure sharia compliant financing.