SFD in talks with Bank Audi-Egypt over $4mn-contract for SMEs

Egypt’s Social Fund for Development (SFD) is negotiating with Bank Audi –Egypt on new contract estimated at 30 million Egyptian pounds (US$3.8 million) to finance small-sized enterprises.

Speaking to Amwal Al Ghad, Nevine Gamea – head of SFD’s central sector for small enterprise finance- stated that the new contract comes among SFD’s strategy to expand in granting new finances for banks.

The fund targets boosting its finances for small and micro-sized enterprises by 23 percent from 5 billion pounds in 2015, the official added.

The number of SFD’s clients are expected to increase in 2016 notably after the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has provided unified definition for SMEs sector.

According to the definition, the current micro enterprises are those whose annual sales or revenues are less than one million pounds while the newly-launched ones are those whose paid-up capital is less than 50,000 thousand pounds and has less than 10 employees.

The central bank defined new type of enterprises i.e. extremely-small in which the current extremely small enterprises are those whose annual sales or revenues are ranging from one million to less than 10 million pounds.

Meanwhile, the new extremely-small enterprises  are those whose paid-up capital is ranging between 50,000 – 5 million pounds for industrial organizations and 3 million pounds for non-industrial ones.

CBE has defined current small-sized enterprises as those whose annual sales or revenues starts from 10 million and less than 20 million pounds.