Banque du Caire backs women, SMEs under SDGs

28 / 04 / 2021

By Ahmed Abdel Qawi - - | Edited by Marwa Nassar

Banque du Caire Board Chairman Tareq Fayed stressed the bank’s keenness on supporting women, especially through funding micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Egypt Vision 2030.

In an interview, Fayed said the bank plays a pivotal role in financing micro projects and this has contributed to creating about 1.3 million jobs. About 35 percent of the bank’s clients who get micro-sized loans are women.

The bank seeks to help women realize financial stability and improve their living conditions as this contributes to achieving all-out economic development and Egypt Vision 2030.

Fayed added that the bank participated in the women financial inclusion campaign which was launched by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) in coincidence with the International Women’s Day.

The campaign – which runs from March 8 to March 31 – offered a number of privileges and facilities for women, topped by opening banking account without any fees or minimum level in addition to providing micro loans without any administrative fees.

This helps women to establish micro projects nationwide and get jobs to improve their standards of living.

Fayed said the bank contributes to a number of social initiative for backing women at all levels, noting that the bank participated in reviving handicrafts in tandem with Azza Fahmy Foundation which managed to offer 650training opportunities.

The bank also spearheaded a new service; namely Bokra (or “Tomorrow”) account, which is especially designed to help women manage their financial affairs via a bundle of banking solutions and privileges.

The Bokra count service is meant to encourage women to save money either in the long or short terms, Fayed said.

Under this service, women would pay monthly installments via ATMs, the Qahera Cash – a mobile wallet application offered by Banque du Caire in cooperation with MasterCard for clients to easily use their mobile phones to pay bills – or any e-payment method, he said.

The installments start from 100 pounds and have no upper limit and the saving period ranges from one year to 10 years maximum. At the end of the saving period, women can get a good sum of money.

This service also allows women to get a discount visa “Meza” for free in addition to getting loans and issuing credit cards. T this account also offers life insurance service.

The bank seeks to support women within the framework of its CSR role and efforts to attain SDGs.