NBE pumps EGP30 into SMEs in 3 months: Aboulfotouh

National Bank of Egypt (NBE), the country’s largest state bank, pumped total funds of 30 billion Egyptian pounds into small and medium enterprises SMEs as part of the Central Bank of Egypt initiative, its Deputy Chairman yehia Aboulfotouh said.

He told Amwal Al Ghad that the funds increased from 27 billion pounds to 30 billion pounds during the  second quarter of 2018/19.

The SMEs portfolio has reached 52 billion pounds, He addd

However, NBE seeks to increase the sector’s portfolio to 100 billion pounds by the end of 2020.

In 2016, the CBE announced an initiative to finance SMEs. Under the initiative, 20 per cent of bank loans should be allocated to SMEs within four years.

The banks are to offer around LE200 billion to finance 350,000 companies and thus create job opportunities for more than four million people.

He added that the bank focuses on a number of productive sectors within the small and medium enterprises portfolio to create more job opportunities mainly agriculture, industry, trade and services.