Alexandria Business Association

Gross Loan Portfolio USD, 2010: 48.0 million

Number of active borrowers 2010: 174,688

Average loan balance per borrower USD, 2010: 274.6

Deposits USD, 2010: 58,338.5

Assets USD, 2010: 75.8 million

Number of depositors 2010: 406

Mission:

The project aims to develop and promote existing small and micro enterprises, to raise funds and income of SMEs, to help the transformation of SMEs from informal to formal sector, and ultimately contribute to solving the radical and chronic unemployment problem.

Background and Main Challenges:

The ABA/SME project was launched in January 1990. After two years of operation, the project generated enough income to cover all operating costs. In 1994, ABA's operating cost ratio ranked among the best in the world. In May 1997, the project expanded its operations to cover other provinces. ... Read more

Address:

52 El Horreya St. - Attarin

Alexandria

Egypt

Phone:

00 20 3 487 2390

Fax:

00 20 3 487 2390

Email:

mtabaa [at] aba-sme [dot] com

Website:

www.aba-sme.com

Main Funding Sources:

Grants

Products and Services:

Loans

Training and Consulting

Products:

Loan products as well as training and consulting services

Looking for (Investment Types):

Equity investments

% Operations Comprised by MF:

91-100

Date established:

Jan 1 1983

FYE:

31-Dec

Current Legal Status:

NGO

Regulated:

Social Performance Profile


+ Mission specifics
+ Target markets (ranked by importance)
Clients living in urban areas	1
Women	1
Clients living in rural areas	1
Adolescents and youth (below 18)	2
+ Development goals (ranked by importance)
Growth of existing businesses	1
Increased access to financial services	1
Development of start-up enterprises	1
Employment generation	1
Poverty reduction	1
Health improvement	2
Improvement of adult education	2
Youth opportunities	2
+ Poverty targets
Very poor clients
Poor clients
Low income clients
+ Governance
+ Range of products and services
+ Financial products and services offered
+ Credit products offered
Microcredit loans for microenterprises
SME loans
Loans for agriculture
Loans for fishers
+ Savings products offered
+ Compulsory insurance products required
Compulsory credit life insurance
ABA established bail fund to cover all risks with social study. Insurance and bail fund are free services covered by ABA.
+ Voluntary insurance products offered
+ Other financial products and services offered
+ Non-financial services offered
+ Enterprise services offered
Enterprise skills development
Business development services
+ Education services offered
Financial literacy education
Basic health/nutrition education
+ Health services offered
Basic medical services
ABA facilitate, discounts in hospitals, pharmacies..etc..
+ Women's empowerment services offered
Leadership training for women
Business training to enhance women's market opportunities.
+ Products and services targeting the poor
Products and services specifically designed to target the poor:	ABA has 3 credit programs: 1) Small & Micro Credit Program 2) Blossoms of Micro Enterprises(solidarity group lending methodology 3) Development Path Program.
+ Social responsibility to clients
+ Client protection principles in use
The loan approval process requires evaluation of borrower repayment capacity and loan affordability. Loan approval does not rely solely on guarantees (whether peer guarantees, co-signers or collateral) as a substitute for good capacity analysis.
Internal audits check household debt exposure, lending practices that violate procedures including unauthorized re-financing, multiple borrowers or co-signers per household, and other practices that could increase indebtedness.
Productivity targets and incentive systems value portfolio quality at least as highly as other factors, such as disbursement or customer growth. Growth is rewarded only if portfolio quality is high.
Prices, terms and conditions of all financial products are fully disclosed to the customer prior to sale, including interest charges, insurance premiums, minimum balances, all fees, penalties, linked products, third party fees, and whether these can change over time.
Staff is trained to communicate effectively with all customers, ensuring that they understand the product, the terms of the contract, their rights and obligations. Communications techniques address literacy limitations (e.g. reading contracts out loud, materials in local languages).
Acceptable and unacceptable debt collection practices are clearly spelled out in a code of ethics, book of staff rules or debt collection manual.
The organization's corporate culture values and rewards high standards of ethical behavior and customer service.
A mechanism to handle customer complaints is in place, has dedicated staff resources, and is actively used. (Suggestion boxes alone are generally not considered adequate.)
Customers know how their information will be used. Staff explains how data will be used and seeks permission for use.
+ Cost of services to clients
Flat interest method
+ Social responsibility to staff
+ Human resources
Transparency on salary (a clear salary scale based upon market salaries)
Benefits (medical insurance, pension contribution)
Protection at work (safety, anti-harassment)
Equality (anti-discrimination, equal pay for men and women with equivalent skill levels)
+ Basis of staff incentives related to social performance
Ability to attract new clients from target market
Client retention/drop-out rate
Portfolio quality
+ Social responsibility to the environment
+ Poverty measurement tools in use
Own proxy poverty index