Egypt's MSMEDA to Support Female Entrepreneurs with €50M Credit Line

The French Agency for Development (AFD) has secured a €50 million creditline for the Egyptian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) with an aim to promote women entrepreneurship in Egypt.

Junior Investment Officer Andrew Emad at the AFD revealed on Friday that the agency is offering the loans and grants to the MSMEDA via Egyptian banks in an effort to advance youth entrepreneurship in Egypt, particularly amongst women. At the core of this initiative lies a larger goal of promoting political empowerment for women and gender equality.

The agreement between the two agencies was made in January 2020 and included an additional €1 million grant from the EU, revealed Emad. He reported that the financing has been reaching budding entrepreneurs in Egypt ahead of scheduled time since the deal was signed, and that between the AFD and the MSMEDA the two agencies have funded 7,039 projects in various Egyptian governorates, generating a total of 17,620 jobs.

The MSMEDA has been providing young entrepreneurs and university students with training, funding, technical and administrative support for innovative business concepts in Egypt since its inception in 1992. 50% of its projects are directed towards women entrepreneurs.

Likewise, the AFD seeks to accelerate the transition to a fairer and more sustainable world through funds and support towards a global mix of projects focusing on climate, biodiversity, peace, education, urban development, health and governance. Their collaboration with the MSMEDA is just one of more than 4,000 projects carried out by the agency worldwide.