MSME: Women Loans Reaches 51% from Overall Finance Portfolio

By Salma Yassin

CAIRO, March 13 (SEE)- Wafaa El-Sayed, representative of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSME), said the total finance cost from 1992 till 2019 reached LE 45.8 Billion, referring that 51% of loans directed to women.

This was in a seminar held today morning at the National Council of Women (NCW) under the title of ”Women’s struggle and success extended over history”.

The seminar was held in line with Egyptian women’s celebrations in 100 years.

[caption id="attachment_40677" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Side of seminar events[/caption]

The event was attended by Dr. Najwa Khalil, former minister of Social Affairs and a current council’s member.

El-Sayed confirmed that Agency’s efforts in supporting Egyptian women everywhere were behind acquiring the Gender Equality Seal Award a week ago.

She said that Egypt is the first country in the Middle East to acquire this award after filling the gap between men and women regarding accessing their rights.

The events reviewed successful stories of some women who managed to start and develop their own projects with the help of MSME.

One of the successful models was Mariam Hussien who managed to inaugurate her own Banquet Furniture store in Nasr city after getting a loan worth LE 50,000 from MSME.

[caption id="attachment_40675" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Mariam Hussien, the owner of Banquet furniture store[/caption]

Hussien confirmed that the Agency not only offer financial support but also other technical and moral ones, as well as follow up care to make sure of the project’s success.