Audi Bank-Egypt signed a $30m financing agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The ERBD will use the loan to further its strategy in Egypt which aims to bolster economic development through the provision of funding for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Audi Bank-Egypt has placed increasing priority on funding the SME sector. To this end, the bank launched an integrated funding model that allows the bank to provide comprehensive consultancy and services throughout the funding process.

Audi Bank-Egypt’s focus on the SME sector aligns with the overall initiative launched by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to finance SMEs.

Chairman and Managing Director of Bank Audi-Egypt Hatem Sadek stressed that SMEs are one of the main pillars through which job opportunities are created for the youth demographic. He added that SMEs can better reduce unemployment, improve the level of income, while contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Abbas Mohamed Fayed, the deputy chairman and managing director of Bank Audi-Egypt, explained that the CBE’s decision to set a uniform definition of SMEs, to design a financing programme with low interest yield, and to develop a mechanism to mitigate credit risk will ease the financial burden on SMEs in the coming years