Nasr in talks with EAEF over financing SMEs

Egyptian International Cooperation and Investment Minister Sahar Nasr discussed on Sunday with head of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF) James Harmon ways of financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Nasr, currently in Washington to represent Egypt at the spring meetings of the World Bank, expressed hope that cooperation between Egypt and the US would be boosted within the coming period, especially after the latest summit between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and US President Donald Trump. 

Harmon said the fund is financed by the US economic aid program for Egypt by 300 million dollars to boost SMEs and entrepreneurship.

The fund's current investments in Egypt, he said, include Fawry pioneering Electronic Payment Network (20 million dollars), Tharwa Capital (56.1 million dollars, Smart Care (1.2 million dollars), Algebra Ventures (10 million dollars) and Tanmeya company (10 million dollars).

He added that the fund is mainly interested in investing in entities backing SMEs to guarantee sustainability.

Talks tackled the establishment of an advisory council of the fund to offer necessary consultancies about the fund investments and make sure projects secure people's needs.

The first meeting of the council will convene in June.

The EAEF aims to invest in Egypt’s private sector to create jobs, improve quality of life and promote financial inclusion for long term inclusive and sustainable economic growth. EAEF will seek to attract foreign investors to Egypt, promote commercial best practices and encourage entrepreneurial activities.

Source: MENA