EFG Hermes Leasing, HSBC team up to boost SMEs expansion

The deal will help SMEs get access to EGP400 million in leasing and financing services in 2019, the financial leasing and advisory services provider said in a statement on Thursday.

The collaboration agreement provides additional support to the government’s and the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) initiatives to prop up the SME sector, which is the mainstay of Egypt’s economy, EFG-Hermes Leasing added.

It highlighted that the SME sector is estimated to generate a significant percentage of the North African nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“The core of the collaboration agreement is to provide SMEs with low-interest rate funding access to medium and long-term financing for capital expenditure and the ability to streamline cash flows,” the statement added.

The deal will provide innovative financing solutions for a slew of SMEs in the Egyptian market, Ahmed El-Kholy, EFG Hermes Leasing chief executive officer, said.

“This agreement comes in line with the CBE’s initiatives and is part of our group-wide initiative that saw us grow the contribution of SMEs in our portfolio to 16% compared to the 6% seen in 2017,” he added.

In May EFG Hermes Leasing launched a dedicated programme to target partnerships with suppliers that facilitate SME financing solutions, the statement noted.

Commenting on signing the collaboration agreement, Helmy Ghazi, managing director and head of Global Banking, HSBC Egypt said, “This agreement demonstrates our commitment to Egyptian SMEs and our ability to deliver the right mix of products, quality of service and international reach to support SMEs seeking to grow domestically and internationally.”