Tarek Amer announces the launch of an Innovation Support Fund with a capital of EGP 1 billion during 2019 at the Digital Economy Conference in Abu Dhabi
Amwal Al-Ghad, December 16, 2018 | 11:32 AM
Tarek Amer, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, stated that the bank aims to launch an Innovation Support Fund with a capital of EGP 1 billion to contribute to the capital of innovative projects during the coming year, 2019. He noted that the foundations and mechanisms necessary for establishing the fund are currently being finalized.
Amer had previously stated that all funds from the “Innovation” Fund would be allocated to innovative youth projects as soft loans without interest or fees, based on the directives of President Sisi.
On the sidelines of his participation in the First Arab Economic Conference on the Digital Economy, currently being held in Abu Dhabi, he explained that the Central Bank has allocated EGP 20 billion to micro-enterprises for financing through banks and civil society organizations. He noted that the volume of financing through the initiative has risen to EGP 16 billion, contributing to the creation of approximately 3 million job opportunities.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt reviewed the state’s strategy for transitioning to a digital economy, which relies on the Central Bank acting as a coordinator through technical and professional interventions, using its mechanisms to promote financial inclusion that supports the digital economy.
He explained that the Central Bank receives full support from the political leadership to achieve its goals through government legislation, pointing to the Central Bank’s intention to launch an information system to support future generations.
He added that the Central Bank is working on support and innovation, while establishing a strong financial system in Egypt. The Central Bank is also working to expand financial and digital technologies, and this is the state’s approach through the establishment of the National Payments Council.
He emphasized that Egypt has succeeded in overcoming obstacles to exchanging information with global markets, as the Central Bank has adopted risk assessment processes and established methodologies for dealing with foreign markets.
He explained that the most prominent challenges lie in raising citizen awareness and how to attract investments and infrastructure from the internet, as well as ensuring competition that serves the customer’s interests and transparency.
He pointed out that Egypt’s population has risen to 100 million, and that they must be given the opportunity to engage with the digital economy. He noted that the number of e-wallet customers has increased to more than 10 million.
Amer emphasized that the banking sector began implementing the digital economy early on. In 2008, when he was Chairman of the National Bank of Egypt, he worked on establishing bank branches and linking branch information to a single information system. This represented a major challenge, but now Egyptian banks are electronically connected.
Amer continued: “We discovered that every 10 years, we experience a financial crisis and a currency crisis due to a lack of attention to financial resources. However, the banking sector now has a loan-to-deposit ratio of 45%, which represents an opportunity for us to finance and increase employment rates.”
The first Arab Digital Economy Conference kicked off today, Sunday, in Abu Dhabi, under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The conference aims to launch a common Arab vision for the digital economy as a key factor encouraging increased economic cooperation and inter-regional trade.
