The financing is part of the EBRD’s Youth in Business programme and will be passed on to private MSMEs that are led or majority-owned by entrepreneurs under the age of 35.
The facility is backed by a first-loss risk cover of up to 10 percent, while sub-borrowers will be eligible for investment grants, funded by the European Union, of up to 10 percent of the loan value.
A technical cooperation package financed by the EBRD will support programme implementation, including capacity-building and training in gender-responsive lending, alongside advisory services to advance Fawry MSME Finance’s digital transformation.
In parallel, the EBRD’s Advice for Small Businesses programme will offer non-financial support to participating enterprises.
Mark Davis, EBRD's managing director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region, said the partnership with Fawry, Egypt’s fintech leader, aims to expand access to finance for young entrepreneurs and help the economy absorb a growing number of underserved youth entering the labour market.
Fawry CEO Ashraf Sabry noted that the agreement would enable the company to expand its financial services to young micro-borrowers, highlighting support from both the EBRD and the EU.
Fawry MSME Finance, established in 2018, is the microfinance arm of Fawry, which has been listed on the Egyptian Exchange since 2019.
Egypt, a founding member of the EBRD, has received over 14.6 billion euros in investments across 225 projects since the bank began operations in the country in 2012.
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