Towards A National Strategy for Microfinance in Egypt

This paper describes the project "Building a National Strategy for Microfinance in Egypt: A Sector Development Approach" that aims to:

• Create a consensus among stakeholders, such as microfinance practitioners, representatives of ministries, donors, policy experts, etc. about:
  • The challenges facing the microfinance industry;
  • Measures to make the industry more market-driven.
• Formulate a strategy that is appropriate to the development of Egypt's microfinance industry.

The paper states that:

• The microfinance industry in Egypt lacks direction or coordination;
• There is a need for:
  • Banks, non-government organizations (NGOs), and the private sector to operate in rational legal and regulatory environments, providing non-conventional products and services;
  • Setting standards of performance for the industry, coordinating between the activities and resources of the government and donors.

The project proposes a strategy that aims to develop a microfinance industry in which sustainable financial services for lower market segments are integrated into the overall development of a broad, inclusive, and diverse financial sector. The paper identifies the areas of intervention required on the micro, meso and macro levels and makes recommendations on how to address the issues and challenges on these three levels, specifying the measures to be enacted in the short (1 year), medium terms (2-3 years) and long term (4-5 years), as well the resources required for implementation.