By ; Mohamed Shawky – Adel Farig
The SANAD Technical Assistance Facility (SANAD TAF) has launched a project with the Egyptian Credit Bureau, known commercially as I-SCORE, to open up much-needed financing to farmers and other agricultural micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The partners are developing a web-based credit assessment and scoring tool tailored to the Egyptian agricultural sector, which will allow various types of financial intermediaries, including banks, leasing companies, and microfinance providers to expand financing to an important but otherwise underbanked segment of the Egyptian economy.
I-SCORE currently assigns credit ratings to retail and MSME borrowers. The cooperation with SANAD will enable it to build capacity to additionally provide ratings for agricultural companies and farmers, reinforcing this sector’s ability to obtain financing from local financial institutions: Historically, only 1% to 2% of total credit provided in Egypt has been extended to agricultural MSMEs. The SANAD TAF project aims to enable I-SCORE to set up and roll out an agricultural credit evaluation and risk assessment system, or “ACERS”, which will enable financial service providers to increase the quantity of lending to the country’s farmers and agricultural enterprises.
The SANAD Fund was established in 2011 to foster economic development and create jobs, particularly for youth, in the Middle East and North Africa by providing debt and equity funding to local financial institutions that lend money to support MSMEs and housing development. The SANAD Technical Assistance Facility multiplies the fund’s development impact and outreach through capacity-building at partner institutions, developing financial infrastructures according to the principles of responsible finance and conducting much required R&D.
