CIB Egypt lands $148 million from AfDB to support SMEs, trade

Commercial International Bank, CIB, of Egypt has secured $148 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB), in form of financial package earmarked to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as trade amid a shortage of foreign currency in the North African country due to complex endogenous and exogenous macro-economic and geopolitical factors. Including persistent supply bottlenecks due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Abidjan-based lender announced the deal Thursday November 30, arguing that the financing will enable CIB to meet the foreign currency needs of its clients in various sectors of the Egyptian economy.
The funding, the bank also indicated, will contribute to mobilizing significant resources for key economic sectors in Egypt, ultimately enhancing productive capacity and stimulating growth.
“This will increase economic output, improve the country’s competitiveness, generate fiscal and export revenues and create much-needed employment opportunities, particularly for women”, AfDB added.
CIB is one of Egypt’s leading private sector banks, leveraging a network of 215 branches and banking units, a workforce comprising 7,689 employees and a portfolio of over 1.9 million clients (end of 2022).
The Egyptian bank provides banking services to retail clients, SMEs and corporates.