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Tag: Al Tadamun Microfinance

  • Al Tadamun Microfinance boosts women’s funding to EGP 2.34bn in 2023

    Al Tadamun Microfinance boosts women’s funding to EGP 2.34bn in 2023

    Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation, dedicated to financing women’s micro-projects, reported significant growth in performance indicators for the financial year ending December 2023. This aligns with national efforts towards women’s economic empowerment, the sustainable development strategy, and Egypt’s Vision 2030.

    The foundation saw a 21% increase in disbursed funds, injecting approximately EGP 2.341bn into client projects, up from EGP 1.94bn in 2022.

    December 2023 witnessed a 22% rise in the outstanding financing portfolio, reaching EGP 1.311bn, up from EGP 1.076bn the previous year, reflecting a commitment to expanding financial access and fostering economic growth.

    Reham Farouk, CEO of Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation, takes pride in the organization’s robust performance and resilience amidst challenging economic conditions. She emphasizes the critical role of small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in bolstering economic activity, increasing domestic production, and creating sustainable employment opportunities. Farouk assures that the foundation will persist in its expansion efforts, aiming to serve all female entrepreneurs through diverse financing programs and non-financial services.

    Karim Gomaa, Financial Director, highlights that over 25 years, the cumulative financing portfolio has exceeded EGP 10.5bn, benefiting 2.2 million women. The foundation operates 112 branches across 14 governorates and three mobile units, enhancing service reach and customer diversity.

    In 2023, in partnership with the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Al Tadamun issued 7,593 Meeza cards to clients, contributing to the total of 125,154 cards distributed, advancing financial inclusion.

    Supporting Egypt’s digital transformation agenda, Al Tadamun enables installment payments through POS terminals in collaboration with Fawry, OPay, Masary, Cash Call, and more, achieving a 99% e-payment rate in December 2023.

  • IFC, Al Tadamun Microfinance partner to support women’s small projects in Egypt

    IFC, Al Tadamun Microfinance partner to support women’s small projects in Egypt

    The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed an agreement with the Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation in Egypt, to help the institution digitize and expand its services, and support women’s small projects.

    Under this agreement, the IFC will assist the Al Tadamun Foundation, which aims to support Egyptian women entrepreneurs who own small projects, by designing and piloting a programme that targets projects and companies run by women and employing one to three employees, which is an important sector in Egypt that receives few services from banks or other formal financial institutions.

    The International Finance Corporation will also help the Al Tadamun Foundation develop a five-year action plan to direct expansion and digitization efforts, in terms of customer service, products and channels of communication with customers, which helps the Foundation support a greater number of women.

    Achieving financial inclusion, especially microfinance for women, is of great importance in Egypt in particular, where many women are considered the sole breadwinners for the family. Financial inclusion empowers them, by helping them to save, create businesses and establish projects, and support local communities.

    Mona Zulfiqar, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation, said: “Microfinance has proven to be a very effective tool to support those who are financially deserving. We are excited to continue our long-term relationship with the International Finance Corporation, and we are keen to complete the successes of that partnership to serve more clients and expand. The scope of our activities will eventually contribute to improving the lives of women nationwide.”

    “Women have always struggled to obtain the financing they need to establish and develop their own project, despite the significant role of these projects in economic and social growth,” said Sheikh Omar Sylla, Regional Director for North Africa and the Horn of Africa at the International Finance Corporation. It is based on a long-term partnership with the Solidarity Foundation, which reflects the commitment of the International Finance Corporation to provide aspects of support and assistance to micro-enterprises and businesses, helping them to achieve the desired success and fully exploit their potential.”

    It is worth noting that for more than 10 years, the International Finance Corporation has provided advisory services to Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation to help it reach Egyptian women across Egypt and achieve more sustainability.

    Since its inception in 1996, the Al Tadamun Foundation has achieved great success as it contributed to improving the living conditions of about two million women by providing the necessary financing to help them expand the scope of their micro-enterprises.

    This project is financed by the World Bank Group’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Financing Facility, a joint initiative that promotes sustainable job creation and private sector-led economic growth. The governments of the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland support the fund’s efforts.

    The value of the investments of the International Finance Corporation’s development portfolio in supporting the private sector in Egypt amounts to about $1.4bn, in addition to advisory programmes worth $32m, in key areas such as financing climate activities, industries, infrastructure, renewable energy, health care, and achieving gender equality.

  • Al Tadamun Microfinance obtains EGP 100m from AAIB to support micro-enterprises

    Al Tadamun Microfinance obtains EGP 100m from AAIB to support micro-enterprises

    Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation, which operates in the field of financing micro-projects by women, announced signing a financing agreement with the Arab African International Bank (AAIB) at a value of EGP 100m, with the aim of supporting micro-enterprises and helping them develop and grow.

    The two parties stressed that the signing of this agreement comes within the framework of keenness on keeping pace with the plans and strategies of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), to achieve financial inclusion and support the economic empowerment of citizens, in line with the goals of sustainable development and the vision of “Egypt 2030”.

    Mona Zulfiqar, chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation, said that signing a cooperation agreement with AAIB contributes to providing financing needs to the largest possible number of women who own micro-enterprises with fairness, quality and appropriate cost, to help them develop and grow their projects. The Foundation tries to increase the financing portfolio directed to the activity of micro-enterprises, which represents a basic pillar of economic growth in Egypt.

    She indicated that the balances of financing microenterprises witnessed a tangible jump, reaching about EGP 64.6bn, serving 4.5 million customers by the end of June 2022.

    Tamer Khalifa, Assistant Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of AAIB, said, “This agreement comes in line with the bank’s strategy 2021-2025 to diversify the bank’s portfolio, in addition to financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and microfinance, based on the experience of the bank. It has also been long committed to providing financing solutions to the corporate sector over the years, as these enterprises are considered a major factor in advancing economic development.

    Reham Farouk, CEO of Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation, said that the signing of the cooperation agreement with AAIB comes within the framework of the constant concern to diversify financing sources. He pointed out that the institution has a strong credit history, as it is currently cooperating with seven government and private banks operating in the Egyptian banking sector.

    She said that the microfinance activity contributes to creating many job opportunities, and also promotes sustainable economic growth. She noted the institution’s ability to continue outstanding performance, and achieve strong growth rates in financing balances and customers’ base during the coming period, which supports the state’s tendencies towards strengthening the role of the sector, which contributes to increasing domestic production and supporting economic activity.

    She added that the Foundation provides a variety of financing products that suit various segments of society for women, which include retail financing, group financing, household financing, and golden and complementary financing.

    For his part, Mohamed Hussein, Head of the SMEs Sector at AAIB, stressed the importance of this agreement because of its effective role in financing micro-enterprises, as these projects contribute to providing permanent and temporary job opportunities and increasing production and income.

    He also emphasized the bank’s interest in supporting the SMEs sector, as part of its strategy, and in line with the directives of CBE and the state’s efforts to advance this vital sector, to increase development rates and reduce unemployment rates.