Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and National Bank of Egypt (NBE) launch 3 new credit programs to support Information and Communication Technology (ICT)’s projects.
This comes within the framework of activating the cooperation agreement signed between the two sides in order to provide a variety of credit packages to finance IT companies.
Designed by NBE, the new credit services provide various finance opportunities for SMEs, operating in ICT including training, investments, call center, software, and supply and maintenance devices registered in the ITIDA’s database containing 1750 firms, throughout the bank’s branches spread in all governorates, which provide - for the first time – finance to firms in remote areas.
NBE provides three main financial services; “Investment Finance” which includes financing finishes and fixtures, appliances and equipment, in addition to the necessary initial capital required to start projects and operations.
The second service is the “Withdrawal Limit of Debit Current Account” which enables firms to get capital finance services and the necessary operating costs for the continuation of operations such as production inputs, wages, salaries and other costs.
The third service “Financing Procurement Processes” is a dedicated service for suppliers and service providers including financing finishes and fixtures, appliances and equipment, operating capital, operations assigned to customers, direct payment to local suppliers, taxes, insurance and general administrative expenses.
The service also includes financing the primary issuance of guarantee letters and final payments for entities, public and private sector companies, banks, and multinationals.
Companies interested in benefiting from the financial services offered by NBE are welcomed to visit ITIDA’s website to check detailed information about the nature of the funding service, conditions and guarantees, and the required documents to obtain these services.
ITIDA is to notify the registered companies in its database about these conditions via e-mails.
The company presents a request for receiving the necessary fund for its projects to the nearest bank branch where the request shall be examined and ask for the needed company’s documents for the funding. NBE shall, in coordination with ITIDA notify about the position of companies applying for loans either approved or rejected. ITIDA is in charge of 50% of the revenues of approved credit facilities, with a maximum of only 5%.
In a related context, based on a similar agreement between ITIDA and the United Bank, the Bank provides the same credit facilities under the same conditions and controls throughout its branches all over the country.
Mr. Yasser El-Kady, ITIDA Chief Executive Officer , focuses on the need to have continuous design and development of new financial services from the banking sector to help ICT companies in financing their projects, strengthening innovation, enhancing their competitiveness, and thereby increasing their revenues; which will directly contribute in enhancing the performance of ICT sector in Egypt at the current stage, especially that this sector is considered as a fundamental pillar of the country’s development.
Mr. El-Kady also expressed ITIDA’s willingness and welcoming of signing new cooperation agreements with various local and international financial institutions, in order to create new and various packages of credit facilities for ICT companies with suitable prices and conditions.
Mr. Ahmed Yahia Darwish, Industry Capacity Building Director at ITIDA, indicates that creating such credit services comes as a direct result of cooperation agreements signed between ITIDA and NBE and the United Bank in October and November 2012 with the amount of $ 300 million LE. This amount will be used in providing funds for SMEs working in the field of ICT, helping small businesses to integrate into larger entities and financing operations associated with achieving this integration. This also includes cooperating in the development of training programs and workshops to urge banking institutions to expand their financial and non-financial services to these SMEs.
Seminars and training workshops have been held to spread awareness to banks on topics related to IT sector and its different work areas, as well as its financing needs. These awareness seminars and workshops were held in the presence of a number of representatives from civil society organizations, the Chamber of Information Technology & Communication, Eitesal (Egyptian Information Telecommunications, Electronics & Software Alliance), and executives from ICT companies.
