Cairo: Egypt’s banking sector will inject 200 billion Egyptian pounds ($25bn) to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said yesterday.
“I have assigned the central bank to make the most of the banking sector to implement a comprehensive programme to support small and medium businesses,” Al Sisi said, adding that loans for SMEs over the next four years will not be less than 20 per cent of all loans issued.
Egypt’s economy has been struggling to recover since a popular uprising in 2011 drove foreign investors and tourists away. The uprising was partly fuelled by anger over the lack of job prospects for young Egyptians.
Al Sisi had pledged to reduce joblessness to 10pc over the next five years. The unemployment level reached 12.8pc in December.
“The biggest hurdle for young entrepreneurs is the financing and if that issue is resolved there will be more businesses and more jobs created,” one banker said, adding that with the new programme banks will bear the burden on their profit margins.
Egypt’s economy grew about 4.2pc last fiscal year and the government forecasts growth of about 5pc in 2015/16.
In November, Egypt’s urban consumer inflation jumped to its highest level since June, propelled by the rising cost of food. Prices rose 11.1pc in November, up from 9.7pc in October.
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