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The World Bank’s board of executive directors approved Thursday a $300 million loan to support access to finance for small and micro entrepreneurs in Egypt. The Enhancing Access to Finance for Micro and Small Enterprises Project will support the government's priority program to encourage the expansion of this sector. It is estimated to account for over 99 percent of Egyptian enterprises, 85 percent of non-agricultural private-sector employment, and, almost 40 percent of total employment. “Micro and small businesses are a primary driver for job creation and economic growth in emerging economies,” said Shamshad Akhtar, World Bank vice president for the Middle East and North Africa. “Through increasing access to finance for small business players, we aim at increasing productivity and employment as a development priority in our support to this region.”

It is the first World Bank-funded project to support of SMEs in the Middle East and North Africa. The project is comprised of two a line of credit for microenterprises and another for small enterprises. For microenterprises, the line of credit will be channeled through banks and NGOs (and potential MFIs). The second component will be channeled directly through bank lending at branch networks, and bank linkages with NGOs and potential small enterprise finance companies set-up under a new microfinance regulation.