The Banking Executive Magazine - January 2023 Issue

The Sovereign Fund of Egypt and Etisalat Egypt TOGETHER LAUNCH ‘ERADA’ MICROFINANCE The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) and Etisalat Egypt by e& have part- nered together to launch the new company Erada Microfinance with the goal of providing access to a wide range of financial services to micro and small enterprises. The partnership is in line with Egypt’s Vi- sion 2030 of supporting financial in- clusion and creating opportunities for the youth through providing inno- vative financial services and digitally enabled lending products. The founders and shareholding struc- ture of Erada in addition to TSFE and Etisalat Egypt by e&, includes Mr. Amr Abouelazm, an industry veteran in the area of non-banking financial services who has also been ap- pointed as Vice Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Erada. In Egypt, the number of beneficiaries who have received microfinance loans is on the rise, with a 46% an- nual growth rate according to the end of September 2022, reaching ap- proximately EGP 35.5 billion, and 3.8 million beneficiaries, of which 60% were women amounting to 2.3 million beneficiaries, and 64% were youth. H.E. Dr. Hala H. ElSaid, Egypt’s Min- ister of Planning and Economic De- velopment and Chairperson of TSFE said that the establishment of Erada is in alignment with the Government of Egypt’s directives to facilitate small and micro enterprises’ access to fi- nancing and creating additional job opportunities for the youth. ElSaid noted that fintech enabled businesses with strong financing fa- cilities support Egypt’s national agenda of digital transformation and financial inclusion across all vital economic sectors to achieve Egypt’s Vision 2030 as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; namely SDG 5: Gender Equality; and SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Mr. Ayman Soliman, Chief Executive Officer of TSFE, said that the launch of Erada is carried out through TSFE Financial Services and Fintech Sub- fund in partnership with Etisalat Egypt by e&, and Mr. Amr Abo El Azm, in line with TSFE's strategy of maximizing value through private sector partnerships and partnering with industry veterans. He further added that having Etisalat Egypt as a partner enables Erada to immediately launch a full suite of innovative lend- ing products that are catered to mar- ket and customer needs. Soliman noted that Egypt is well po- sitioned for an immediate and full launch of its digital economy in line with TSFE's Financial Services and Fintech Subfund's strategy of creating value and returns across all sectors and specifically the financial services and fintech sectors, stimulating eco- nomic growth and accelerating the transformation process through part- nerships with strategic investors. Eng. Hazem Metwally, Chief Execu- tive Officer of Etisalat Egypt praised the partnership with TSFE; and the launching of Erada, noting that it will be managed through an independent board of directors. He added that Eti- salat Egypt’s investments have reached over EGP 70 billion over the span of 15 years, and that it strives towards empowering MSMEs through access to finance and tech- enablement in Egypt through Erada as a result of the partnership with TSFE and the experts in the industry of non-banking financial services. Eng Metwally also stated that Etisalat Egypt aims to enhance the business sector and consolidate financial in- clusion mechanisms to support the economic growth in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030, and that is also in line with e&’s agenda, which services exist in 16 countries worldwide. Mr. Amr Aboelazm, Cofounder, CEO, and Vice Chairman of Erada said that the company is collaborat- ing with the full ecosystem and ben- eficiaries including banks, corporates and entrepreneurs; to provide a gate- way to innovative products to sup- port this vital sector in Egypt allowing access to finance, creating jobs and additional income. He added that the company has final- ized the requirements with the Fi- nancial Regulatory Authority (FRA) and obtained the license to operate in record timing. With his extensive experience in managing non-banking financial in- stitutions for over 30 years, Aboe- lazm has held the position of Chairman and CEO of Tamweely Mi- crofinance, the Co-founder and CEO of Tanmeyah for Microenterprise Services, prior to which he served as Deputy Director of the German De- velopment Bank (KFW) in Egypt. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 42 ISSUE 169 JANUARY 2023