Egypt’s Agriculture Bank opens 5 business development centres among NilePreneurs Initiative

The Agricultural Bank of Egypt opened 5 new business development services centers in Ismailia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Minya, Fayoum and Sohag as part of the NilePreneurs Initiative launched by the Central Bank of Egypt to support entrepreneurship and youth projects.

The NilePreneurs Initiative is one of the initiatives of the Central Bank of Egypt and implemented by Nile University in cooperation with some agencies and banks.

Emphasizing the bank’s keenness to provide non-financial and advisory services, in addition to variety of its banking and financing services in all governorates for emerging, small and medium enterprises, and encouraging entrepreneurs to launch their projects, especially in the fields of manufacturing, agriculture and digital transformation.

The opening ceremony was attended by Alaa Farouk, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt, Sherif Luqman, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank for Financial Inclusion, Sami Abdel Sadiq, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agricultural Bank for Business Sectors, Number of leaders of the Central Bank of Egypt and heads of groups and sectors in the Agricultural Bank of Egypt. 

Alaa Farouk said that the new centres were established in accordance with the standards and requirements of the Central Bank of Egypt to meet the needs of entrepreneurs, innovators, medium and small projects in various governorates and new development areas, to provide technical, advisory support and financing for them.

He added : "this is done by providing a range of non-financial services that go beyond the concept of usual banking services to reach the highest levels of quality and success for projects such as spreading knowledge, forming new project ideas, facilitating getting training programs, activity registration and obtaining licenses. In addition, it helps facilitating and obtaining feasibility studies, business plan and business model, preparing credit files, financial analysis, and networking".

He assured the keenness of his bank in supporting the NilePreneurs Initiative Egypt. He added that his bank has taken part in the 14th Creative Industry Summit, from 27-29 September, along with many startups, entrepreneurs and creative agencies.

Furthermore, the bank is ready to enter into partnerships with the owners of these projects and provide them with all means of support, with the aim of enhancing the chances of success of their projects and improving their business environment, which will be reflected in the standard of living, create job opportunities, increase national output and accelerate production.

Sherif Luqman, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank for Financial Inclusion, affirmed that the NilePreneurs Initiative is one of the most important initiatives launched by the Central Bank in cooperation with the banking sector and a number of local and international bodies and universities to provide non-financial services to entrepreneurs and owners of startups and small projects.

He continued that the business development services centres, which increased to 70 centres covering 22 governorates, and whose numbers increased more than three times during  2022, achieved outstanding results at the level of providing non-financial services to entrepreneurs.

He also indicated that these centres have provided, since July 2019 until the end of December 2022, about 254,000 services for more than 100,000 beneficiaries. Women and entrepreneurs constituted about 29% of the total beneficiaries.

Finally, he praised the ABE’s efforts in Egypt and its keenness to expand financing of micro, small and medium enterprises in this vital sector, which represents a real factor for the growth of the national economy and the creation of job opportunities for youth, so that the goals of the Egyptian Agricultural Bank coincide with the state's efforts to achieve development.