Our Partners
EGYPT
Egypt is the second most populous country in Africa and the most populous in the Arab World. Although official estimates indicate that 20 percent of its population of over 81 million people lives below the National Poverty Line, unofficial estimates push the number as high as 35%.
According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, 70% of Egypt’s poor are rural poor, with the highest concentration of rural poor living in Upper Egypt. However, poverty rates are expected to increase in Egypt’s metropolitan areas between now and 2015. For example, Cairo’s poverty rate is expected to increase from 4.6% in 2005 to 7.6% in 2015 according to the UNDP.
Estimated potential demand for microfinance is about 4.7 million potential clients, of which 10% are currently served by the sector. Where microfinance is already available, there is evidence that women are slowly moving their families out of poverty.
Grameen-Jameel currently supports three partners in Egypt that collectively serve more than 175,000 clients as of December 2008, about 45% of the total market.
Al Tadamun
Dakalya Businessmen Association for Community Development (DBACD)
Regional Association for Development and Enterprise (RADE)
Al Tadamun: Al Tadamun was established in 1996 as a project of Save the Children-USA/Egypt, and then spun off from Save the Children to become part of the Cairo-based Women’s Health Improvement Association (WHIA), chaired by Mona Zulficar. Al Tadamun is fully owned by WHIA, which in turn has no shareholders as a non-profit organization.
Al Tadamun operates through a network of 17 branches serving 67,845 clients throughout Greater Cairo as of December 2008. Al Tadamum’s loans are used for a variety of income-generating purposes including agriculture, shopkeeping, animal husbandry, and other cottage industries.
Relying strictly on a solidarity group lending methodology for the distribution of its products, which include a seasonal loan and insurance product in addition to its classic group loan, Al Tadamun has maintained perfect portfolio quality since its inception. In 2007, Al Tadamun received a B+/Stable Outlook from Planet Rating. In 2008, it was also listed at #35 on the 2008 MIX Global 100 Composite list of top MFIs worldwide.
In 2003, Al Tadamun became a Grameen-Jameel partner. Grameen-Jameel has provided nearly $400,000 in direct financing to Al Tadamun. Recently, Grameen-Jameel and Al Tadamun closed a US $2.0 million guarantee transaction that was leveraged 1.5x to obtain US $3.0 million in local currency financing. In addition, technical assistance has been provided to help Al Tadamun achieve operational and financial sustainability, including a visit by Grameen Bank Deputy Managing Director Dipal Chandra Barua in 2004.
Al Tadamun released a new business plan in late 2007 following a workshop provided by Grameen-Jameel. Al Tadamun has also participated in SEEP FRAME Tool Training as well as a pilot for Grameen-Jameel’s eLearning Program for Loan Officers. In Q4 2008, Al Tadamun participated in the Grameen-Jameel Dialogue for the Arab World and the first Arab Microfinance Investment Symposium in Dubai.
Dakalya Businessmen Association for Community Development (DBACD): DBACD is based in Mansoura, Egypt in the Nile delta region, where it was established as an NGO in 1995. In October 1997, DBACD signed a Cooperative Agreement with USAID through its Small and Micro Enterprise (SME) division and began disbursing loans in early September 1998. DBACD reached operational self-sufficiency (OSS) in less than a year (August 1999), and achieved financial self-sufficiency in December 1999, remaining profitable ever since despite significant expansion. By December 2008, DBACD had grown to 93,533 total borrowers, with a gross loan portfolio of US$20.0 million
In June 2007, DBACD received an A-/Stable Outlook from Planet Rating. It was #52 on the 2008 MIX Global 100 Composite list of top MFIs worldwide and #28 on the Forbes Top 50 MFIs for 2007.
Grameen-Jameel has provided two loan guarantees to DBACD in 2006 and 2008 totaling US $3.5 million to secure US $5.5 million in local currency financing for the purpose of onlending. DBACD has also participated in SEEP FRAME Tool training in 2007 and partner training in Tunisia in 2008. In Q4 2008, DBACD participated in the Grameen-Jameel Dialogue for the Arab World and the first Arab Microfinance Investment Symposium in Dubai. http://www.dbacd-eg.org/
Regional Association for Development and Enterprise (RADE): Based in Sohag, one of Egypt’s poorest areas, RADE is an independent Egyptian NGO that began providing microcredit loans in 1997 with the help of Catholic Relief Services. The organization began its microcredit activities in 1998.
RADE’s mission is to improve the socio-economic status of low income households, with a focus on helping women become economically active. It also provides business development assistance to clients and health insurance.
RADE became a Grameen-Jameel partner in 2003. To date, Grameen-Jameel has provided RADE with US $70,000 in direct financing with funding from Mosaic Foundation. Since June 2007, RADE has also participated in the pilot for Grameen-Jameel’s e-Learning Program for Loan Officers, the Grameen Foundation Partner Forum, and a Grameen-Jameel partner training in Tunisia. In Q4 2008, Grameen-Jameel provided customized IT support for RADE.
As of December 2008, RADE reached 14,823 active borrowers with a loan portfolio of US $3.1 million.