MFI Report

With the growing population and the impact of the current structural adjustment program, the socio-economic conditions of the poor in Egypt are increasingly deteriorating. As in most developing countries, the impact of poverty is greatest on women and girls, with discrimination in access to nutrition, health, education, employment opportunities and access to credit.In response to the need for a source of credit for poor women, Save the Children/USA – Egypt Field Office (SC) began a Group Guaranteed Lending and Savings (GGLS) pilot program in September 1996, in conjunction with the Women’s Health Improvement Association (WHIA), in the disadvantaged Cairo neighborhood of Abdeen. Using private sources of funding, SC has found out that the GGLS Program has developed well beyond the pilot phase in WHIA’s Abdeen Branch; the fact that has encouraged SC to expand in Imbaba and lately in Dar El Salam as well. In July 2003, the three branches were merged as a partnership between SC and WHIA into a fully autonomous and Program under the umbrella of WHIA, AL TADAMUN MICROFINANCE PROGRAM. The Program’s vision is to become the largest Microfinance institution serving women’s small and micro enterprises in Egypt. The Program’s mission is to increase the income of women micro-entrepreneurs of the poor neighborhoods in Egypt through providing sustainable appropriate financial services.From late November 1996 to end of October 2004, ALTADAMUN Microfinance program has disbursed loans at a value of LE 29,364,500 to 41,043 women/ with a cumulative repayment rate since its beginning of 100%. As of end of October 2004, the Program has 8,368 active clients with an outstanding portfolio of LE 4,586,903 Hide