Hi Let’s talk Micro finance in Egypt!.

Hi Let’s talk Micro finance in Egypt!.

With the new microfinance law issued this week, Egypt Business Directory looks at the microfinance landscape in Egypt.

The new law was issued last Thursday, according to the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA), and aims at regulating microcredit provided by non-bank financiers, putting them under the authority of EFSA. This concerns mainly companies and non-governmental organizations, whereas banks will continue to respond to the Central Bank of Egypt.

This aims at strengthening the regulatory framework and practices, in order to attract investors, according to the head of EFSA Sherif Samy.

Whereas the law might help resolve issues that had arisen earlier, regulatory framework and practices are not Egypt’s biggest problem in the microfinance sector.

The Economist Intelligence Unit released a report last year entitled “Global microscope on the microfinance business environment 2013”, which evaluated 55 countries according to the regulatory framework and practices, supporting institutional framework (transparency and client protection) and stability (in terms of political situation).

Egypt advanced from the 50th to the 49th rank compared to a year earlier; however, the main burden facing microfinance is political instability, which delays regulatory reforms.

Breaking down the rank, Egypt came in 41st in terms of regulatory framework and practices, while scoring 46th in supporting the institutional framework. The country came in last in the stability evaluation.

Hence, the country mainly needs to work on its institutional framework and be concerned with political stability, as well as address its “weak dispute-resolution mechanisms”, according to the report. 

In an attempt to raise awareness about the new law issued last week and give an outlook on what will happen in 2015, EFSA joined forces with conference organizer IQPC to host “Microfinance Egypt” – an event that will take place from the 20th – 21st of January 2015. The conference will include panel discussions, showcases and workshops. For more information on the event, please click here. 

In general, Microfinancial Institutions (MFIs) do not routinely disclose interest rates, and the participation in credit bureaus in Egypt is higher than Yemen, which prevents multiple borrowing.

Who regulates microfinance in Egypt?

The Central Bank of Egypt, the Ministry of Social Solidarity, and the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority.

Who provides microfinance services? 

Four banks and over 400 non-governmental organization-microfinance institutions (NGO-MFIs), according to the Economist report.

What is the main burden?

The Economist Intelligence Unit pinpoints political instability – in reference to the removal of former president Mohamed Morsi and the new draft NGO Law.

Hi Egyptian rights groups fear government crackdown looms.

Hi Egyptian rights groups fear government crackdown looms. 

* 2002 law tightly restricts activities, finances of NGOs.

* Rights groups say climate not safe for their work.

* Sisi has presided over broad crackdown on dissent.

By Maggie Fick

CAIRO, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Some Egyptian human rights groups shredded documents on Sunday and instructed their staff to stay home as a government deadline approached for them to register under a Hosni Mubarak-era law they say seeks to eliminate them.

Egypt's government says groups doing the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) but not registered as such must correct their status by Monday to comply with a 2002 law it is enforcing while it works on new legislation for the sector.

Human rights groups say the push to enforce the old law aims to restrict their activities and funding, raising concerns that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government is rolling back freedoms won in the 2011 uprising that ousted Mubarak.

"Whatever happens, I don't think that the human rights movement in Egypt is going to be able to work safely," Mohamed Zaree, programme director at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), told Reuters.

He said his group had never tried to register under the 2002 law and refused to do so now because it was "a death sentence for our independence".

Contacted by Reuters on Sunday, neither the Social Solidarity Ministry, which is responsible for NGOs, nor the presidential spokesman were immediately available for comment.

But Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali told Reuters last month that the state could not let groups operate unregulated pending a new NGOs law that could take months.

She sought to assuage fears that her ministry would use the 2002 law to starve critical NGOs of funding, saying that from June 30, 2013 to Sept. 30, 2014, it had approved 812 grants to 500 NGOs from 540 donors totalling 835 million Egyptian pounds.

But she also said the government would begin going after improperly registered organisations once the deadline passed.

The government's deadline comes as executives from more than 60 U.S. businesses visit Cairo for a major investment summit.

Foreign investors have looked positively on initial economic reforms enacted by Sisi, who has pledged to revive the economy and combat an Islamist insurgency. He has been less specific on upholding the rights many Egyptians rose up to demand in 2011.

Since toppling elected President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood last year, Sisi has presided over a fierce crackdown on dissent that has seen many thousands jailed.

Though most targeted in the crackdown were Mursi supporters, liberal and secular activists are now also behind bars -- many of them charged with violating a new law that limits protest.

The political climate means trust is low between the government and civil society in Egypt. Some groups have felt particularly exposed since late 2011, when authorities raided 17 local and international pro-democracy and rights groups accusing them of joining a foreign conspiracy against Egypt.

Some groups have refused to register under the 2002 law because it enables tight state control over the activities and finances of registered groups. Others are registered as civil companies or law firms because the government never approved their applications under the 2002 law.

"CLIMATE OF FEAR"

Rights defenders interviewed on Sunday said they were taking precautions such as temporarily closing their offices or working from home. Speaking on condition of anonymity, two groups said they had destroyed documents in anticipation of a raid.

Amnesty International's Egypt researcher Nicholas Piachaud told Reuters that, regardless of what happened on Monday's deadline, the damage had "already been done".

"The Egyptian authorities are sowing a climate of fear which has stopped NGOs from doing their vital work of defending human rights and the law," he said.

Zaree of CIHRS said his group and others already operated under severe constraints, constantly worried their work would be seen by the state as an attempt to "stain the national image".

He cited his group's decision not to participate in last week's United Nations Human Rights Council review of Egypt's human rights record as an example when the group had to stand down, not knowing "what the cost of participating would be."

Egypt defended its record at the meeting, saying that personal freedoms were among its prime concerns.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (PIER), a well-known group, said it tried in 2004 to register under the law but "nothing happened", even after staff went to court to try to get the application accepted. Like other groups doing similar work, EIPR is registered as a limited liability company.

"We really don't see the point of registering under a 12 year-old-law that even the state says is inadequate," said EIPR Associate Director Gasser Abdel-Razek. "Everyone accepts the fact that this is not a democratic law". (Additional reporting by Stephen Kalin, Lin Noueihed and Shadi Bushra, Editing by Lin Noueihed and Tom Heneghan).