MSMEDA Microfinance

Supporting the 2030 SDG goals, this practice would achieve the following SDGs and their corresponding targets:<br />
To achieve these goals & Avail and satisfy the demand for, sustained access to financial & non-Financial services to the underprivileged segment of the society throughout Egypt & to promote and support the development and long term sustainability of service providers in order to facilitate poverty alleviation and employment generation, MSMEDA Micro Finance Objectives will include: -<br />
 Contribution to poverty reduction & jobs creation.<br />
 To empower women or other disadvantaged population groups<br />
 To help existing business to grow or diversify their activities<br />
 To encourage the development of new business<br />
 To increase the productivity and incomes of vulnerable groups<br />
 Leads to more spending on basic needs (education and nutrition and health care).<br />
 Capacity building and technical assistance to the implementing agencies as well as, the end clients if needed.<br />
MSMEDA focus on availing services to women for the following reasons:<br />
 Females often have fewer economic opportunities than men do.<br />
 Women face cultural barriers that often restrict them to the home.<br />
 Women have more traditional roles in the economy (enabling to operate a business outside of their homes).<br />
 Women have disproportional large household obligations.<br />
 Women almost always make up the poorest segments of society; they are generally responsible for children rearing (including education, health and nutrition)<br />
 But on the other hand we believe that the female micro entrepreneur programs are the most successful programs for the following reasons: -<br />
 Women have a high sense of responsibility and are affected by social pressure.<br />
 It has been argued that an increase in women’s income benefits the household and the community to a greater extends than an increase in men’s income.<br />
 The accumulated experiences have proven that arrears rates are slightly higher among men than women.<br />
 Women have also demonstrated higher repayment and saving rates than men clients.<br />
 The provision of financial services directly to women is to empower them by increasing their economic position in society<br />
However, the practice faced some Challenges that might prevent women participation in development<br />
 Illiteracy among women that might reach more than 40% in rural areas.<br />
 Customs and traditions<br />
 Early Marriage<br />
 Increased Number of children<br />
 Lack of technical and administrative skills<br />
 Lack of communication<br />
And to overcome these challenges MSMEDA Gender unit took many initiatives for Women Empowerment including the following:<br />
 The Gender Unit conducts a need-assessment meeting with the NGOs proposed the needed training to be able to empower women in their communities.<br />
 Trainings on Gender and Entrepreneurship:<br />
 Much training was conducted for women using the ILO manual of &quot;Get Ahead&quot; with the whole support and follow-up of the Gender Unit.<br />
 Vocational Trainings for Women Entrepreneurs that includes many traditional and heritage crafts such as leather products, beads, sewing, detailing, needlework, crochet, knitwear, arabesques, glass, etc….<br />
 Vocational training for women and girls including with different disabilities.