Microfinance activity records 7.2 bln pounds in 2017: Omran

Microfinance activities continued their growth over by the end of 2017, recording  7.2 billion Egyptian pounds ($407 million), a 59 percent increase compared to 4.49 billion in 2016 according to chairperson of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) Mohamed Emran.

The number of beneficiaries from microfinance initiatives in that period increased 24  percent, registering 2.260 million by the end of 2017 compared to 1.8 million in 2016, the EFSA chairperson added.

on the other hand, the commercial activity has captured a market share of 61.4 percent with funding of 4.3 billion pounds and number of beneficiaries 1.51 million, while the service activity came second with market share of  17.55 percent and funding of 1.24 billion pounds.

The agriculture activity came in third place registering market share of 13.6 percent with funding of 968 million pounds.

Omran also has praised the role that the microfinance law played in supporting this activity, noting that that this law focused, in its articles, on production activities rather than consumer activities.