Based on Banque Misr's leading role in the field of financing medium, small and micro enterprises, Banque Misr and the Microenterprise Services Company (Rifi) signed a cooperation protocol to provide financial and non-financial solutions and products to micro entrepreneurs, in the presence of Banque Misr's Chairman Mr. Mohamed El Etreby, and the protocol was signed by Mr. Akef El-Maghraby, Vice Chairman of Banque Misr, and Mr. Ahmed Labib, Managing Director and CEO of the Microenterprise Services Company ( Rifi), and a group of bank and company leaders.

This partnership also supports the role of Banque Misr and Reefy Company in attracting new segments of micro and small enterprise owners to provide distinguished financing mechanisms that meet all the financing needs of those segments, in addition to the bank's provision of expertise to the company in the field of digital grant models, as the bank strives to localize advanced technological services in its various dealings to ensure keeping pace with development. The bank also provides a range of non-financial services to the company's customers through its business development centers, which were launched under the umbrella of the NilePreneurs initiative under the auspices of the Central Bank of Egypt, in addition to the company's provision of marketing, organizational and technical consultations, economic studies and services in various fields.

Mr. Mohamed El-Etreby, Chairman of Banque Misr, commented: "The MSME sector is the engine of growth of the national economy, and the bank pays great attention to this sector and is always keen to enter into many partnerships aimed at supporting projects of all sizes and helping them grow, which enhances financial inclusion efforts, provides job opportunities and drives economic growth, in addition to including the informal economy into the formal economy.

This coincides with the directions of the Central Bank of Egypt and the state's efforts to support projects as they are the engine and pillar of economic growth, and the financing portfolio of small and medium enterprises reaches 27.5% by the end of December 2022, which reflects positively on the national economy, improving economic indicators and increasing economic development rates, encouraging local products and reducing the import bill.

Mr. Akef Al-Maghrabi stressed that the signing of this protocol by the bank comes within the framework of its strategy aimed at supporting and developing small and micro enterprises, by providing distinguished financing mechanisms that meet all the financial and non-financial needs of projects in various economic activities to meet the needs of various projects, as the bank attaches great importance to meeting the needs of customers in this sector.

For his part, Mr. Ahmed Labib, Managing Director and CEO of Microenterprise Services Company (Refi), expressed his happiness with the signing of this important protocol, given the integration of the services provided by Reefy with the role played by the bank in maximizing financial inclusion for all segments of society, by making the most of the geographical presence of Banque Misr and Reefy throughout the Republic, and then providing comprehensive financing programs for a larger number of customers in all governorates of Egypt, which enhances the local economy of many villages. hamlets and communities across all governorates.

Labib added that this protocol is in line with the state's efforts to enhance financial inclusion and include the largest number of micro-entrepreneurs in the formal economy system, as well as enhance the state's efforts to support the microenterprise sector, as it is one of the main pillars of achieving economic development.

Banque Misr is always keen to enter into many initiatives and protocols aimed at expanding the financing of the project sector, in addition to providing technical, financial and non-financial advisory services to clients, as the values and strategies of the bank's work always reflect its commitment to sustainable development to complement Banque Misr's leading role in supporting the Egyptian economy.