The initiative aims to increase financing opportunities for women-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and provide them with technical support.
“This initiative coincides with the government's vision to improve the financial inclusion of women and the central bank's efforts to provide more financing opportunities for women entrepreneurs in collaboration with all concerned entities,” Governor of CBE Hassan Abdallah stated.
In collaboration with the banking institute, banks and other governmental entities will offer technical support under the initiative for building financial sector and other financial service providers skills for women.
They will also promote women's financial inclusion and allocate a certain amount of money through the initiative to boost women's entrepreneurship and decrease financing gaps between the two genders to achieve equality.
This initiative is a global partnership among 14 governments and eight multinational development banks, hosted by the World Bank Group.
The EBRD has launched the initiative in three Arab countries: Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan.
“The CBE has demonstrated leadership in promoting financial inclusion, especially in making financing available to women-led MSMEs, and the EBRD is committed to supporting the CBE in this endeavour through implementing the We-Fi initiative as a platform to bridge the gender gap in Egypt,” said First Vice President and Head of Client Services Group at the EBRD Jürgen Rigterink.
The CBE has a strategy focusing on women's empowerment through its initiatives and procedures.
These initiatives include launching the “Women for Women in Fintech” initiative in April 2024 by FinTech Egypt to provide novel fintech solutions for women entrepreneurs.
Moreover, the bank organized the “Women Financial Inclusion” event in March 2024 to spread financial literacy among women.
According to the CBE data, the number of financially included women in Egypt reached 20.3 million at a growth rate of 244 percent from 2016 to 2023.
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