Banque Misr Pumps EGP 1.3 billion into SMEs

By: Taarek Refaat

CAIRO, Dec. 23- Sherif El-Behery, the Head of Banque Misr's SMEs said on Sunday during the 5th Akhbar Al-Youm Economic Conference that the portfolio of the bank for project financing reached EGP 15 billion with EGP 1.3 billion pumped recently.

The financing portfolio for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) consists of four shares, 25 percent each.

"The portfolio is pided equally between projects, in which industrial, commercial, constructional and services projects receive 25 percent each," El-Behery said.

Some 12,000 new loan applications are submitted to the bank each month, of which 8,000 are approved. "Each month, 6,500 micro-projects, 1,000 small, and 80 medium-sized enterprises' applications are accepted," he added.

CEO of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)Alaa El-Saqti, and CEO of the Project Development Authority Neveen Gamie chaired the project finance session at the conference.