The KfW-funded project “Egyptian German Best Practice Microfinance Program” is focusing on the provision of technical assistance to the partner institutions (or clients) of MFS, through developing the capacity of two types of financial intermediaries: NGOs and banks.  The NGOs will benefit by becoming more professional and transparent and the upgrading will allow them not only to access more SFD funds but also funds from commercial banks or international microfinance wholesalers.

The Consortium (FACET/NSCE) has designed a specific approach to the implementation of the project corresponding to the real need, based on the large accumulated conceptual and practical experience in the delivery of micro-finance, capacity building and institutional development in the Near and Middle East.

The implementation of good practices will mean that institutional and operational weaknesses are identified in a participatory way with the financial intermediary. The technical assistance team will develop solutions and maintain continuous consultation to support a sense of ownership among the selected to the financial intermediary.

Services provided by NSCE:

1.   Technical assistance component: Implementation of the capacity building for the NGOs, the banks and the MFS team.

2.   Financial instruments component: A refinancing credit line for NGO’s and A guarantee fund for participating banks.

November 2005 – October 2008

KFW

The project aims at deepening the clientele of ASDP, as well as widening the fields of intervention. Its major activities are to:

Design and implement training programs for bankers and credit officers, -  Organize and support awareness and promotion campaigns towards the specific target groups,  -  Develop and monitor loan-processing procedures.

The project’s objective is to assist in the establishment of cooperatives guarantee funds at district and governorate levels, establishing the links with micro-finance schemes and supporting cash flow based lending to rural women associations to ensure a smooth implementation of lending activities in the rural/ agricultural sector.

April 2005 – 2009

EU (The Commission of the European Union)

The ESFD Project aims to alleviate poverty and mitigate the social impact of economic transition on disadvantaged groups through the creation of opportunities for economic and social development, and through the improvement of the population’s access to basic social services.  A total of 31 m Euro is dedicated to the Project, comprised of EU funds of 25 m Euro and the Lebanese Govt. funds of 6m Euro.  In addition to the 2.2 m Euro TA budget, operational funds for each project component have been dedicated as indicated below.  The ESFD Project pursues its objectives through two main components;.

The Job Creation Component (Operational Funds =14mEuro) aims at the provision of financing to micro-enterprises or individuals, in addition to non-financial support services aiming at improving the viability and sustainability of submitted projects Credit lines shall be provided through a group of banks and NGOs to be selected based on a set of criteria including competence, financial strength, outreach to poor communities and target groups. 

The Local Development Component  (Operational Funds = 7mEuro) aims at satisfying the needs in terms of access to social services and improvement of the well being of the most disadvantaged groups. 

Institutional sustainability will be achieved once the ESFD is operating autonomously, without further substantial external assistance.

SFD IMPACT ASSESSMENT: CREDIT AND HRD STUDY

NSCE has been commissioned to carry out an Impact Assessment Study prior to the Multi Donor Review Mission II (MDRM II) to provide the review mission members with pertinent information about the impact of investments of the SFD. The 2 impact assessments were executed in close cooperation with the Egyptian SFD who was also the prime Beneficiary of the services. The studies focused on the Small Enterprise Development Program implemented through SEDO.

The main objective of the Credit component was to measure employment creation, asset accumulation and sustainability of operation among groups of clients of the SEDO credit schemes in 2 governorates through:

Description of SEDO clients (including non operational and non-traceable clients), non-clients, loans, household and individuals and non financial services provided by SEDO Identification of the specifications of the loan (information about the credit, size and number of loans disbursed, and perceived constraints).

•  Measurement of economic and social impact of the loan program at enterprise level, household level and individual level.

•  Analysis of client satisfaction (of financial and non-financial services)

•  Measurement of sustainability of operation among groups of clients of the SEDO credit schemes.

•  Positioning of SEDO in the market of SME credit

The main objective of the HRD was to assess, from the perspective of the target group, the appropriateness of training courses offered and the success or otherwise of trainees to, upon completion of the training, start a business or enter into gainful employment through:

Evaluation of the training courses provided by the SFD to its beneficiaries and estimation of success rates (training centers, trainers and curricula)

Assessment of trainees’ motivations to join training courses, satisfaction and expectations upon graduation, support expected and received in employment search, adequacy of the courses regarding employment obtained or businesses started.

Social Fund for Development/EU

SEDO JOB ASSESSMENT

This project assists the Small Enterprise Development Association, a subsidiary of the Social Fund for Development, to develop clear employment definitions with regards to various categories of work. The project consequently assesses the effectiveness of the SFD in reaching its employment generation objectives through detailed survey of a sample of 20% of the loan beneficiaries in three governorates.

Types of services provided: Defined measurable categories of employment, based on generally accepted and internationally recognized principles, Survey of loan beneficiaries assessed the employment generated through SFD SEDO loan program

Social Fund for Development/SEDO

PROMOTION ASSESSMENT FOR THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

The Agricultural Sector Development Program  (ASDP), funded by the European Commission, aims to increase income opportunities for rural population through a credit scheme. It is composed of the former Food Sector Development Programme (FSDP) and Multi-Sector Support Programme (MSSP).  More than 61,000 beneficiaries in the five key-sectors benefited from the loans that are disbursed throughout Egypt through commercial banks. The total amount disbursed is above 750million.The use of the funds and the target group outreach, however, remain below expectations. NSCE was contracted to assess the needs and the types of promotional activities that will increase the accessibility by the target groups of the available credit facilities. The study was structured in two phases. The first one focused on assessing current marketing practices and hurdles encountered by the target population in accessing the funds. The second phase focused in the design of a public awareness and promotion campaign.

March 2004- April 2004

EU funded (The Commission of the European Union)

FINANCIAL SERVICES IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, PBDAC, TRAINING PROGRAM FOR CREDIT OFFICERS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSTS, BDAC FAYOUM BRANCHES

This is a Training Program for Credit Officers and Financial Analysts, taking place at BDAC Fayoum Branches. The main objective is to achieve greater client and market orientation at the bank's main operating levels. This training program targets the credit unit manager, the financial analyst and the development specialist of the bank. The training program addresses topics such as:

•  General introduction to BDAC practices,

•  Marketing and relationship management,

•  Introducing new products and credit scoring systems,

•  Credit analysis,

•  Micro loans, and Training of trainers.

Sept. 02-June 04

Bank of Development Agricultural Credit (BDAC)

SME INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND JOB CREATION AT THE CANAL ZONE

The “SME Investment Opportunities and job creation at the Canal Zone” project is an initiative implemented for the Small Enterprise Development Organization Small Enterprises Development Organization (SEDO) and funded by The Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA. The objective of the project is to provide technical assistance to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) to:

Encourage entrepreneurship development and assist development of MSME sector in the Canal Zone; Reinforce SEDO capacity building to support SME growth.

NSCE was commissioned to carry out an investment opportunities assessment and to identify the most promising industrial fields and assess their financial and technical needs. In order to identify industrial fields with promising investment opportunities for SMEs, analyze their needs, and target effective financial and assistance services, the following objectives had to be achieved:

Define the methodology for identifying investment opportunities in SMEs sector at Canal Zone (Port Said, Ismailia, and Suez) - To identify promising industrial fields (selecting at least five sub-sectors in each governorate and assessing their financial and technical needs)  - To provide advice to SEDO financial and business strategy plan in the Canal Zone4. To identify integration opportunities between the canal zone cities (Port Said, Ismailia and Suez) -  Coordination and cooperation prospects   between mega projects or large business in Canal Zone and SME -  To assess export potential for SMEs

During the implementation of this study, technical transfer was made in methodology of industrial survey and analysis by the experts to SEDO staff for repetition of this study on other governorates.

Sept. 02 – Sept. 03

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

DAKAHLIYA RURAL FINANCE PROJECT

The Dakhaliya Rural Finance Project aimed at developing the capacity of a public bank, (Misr Bank) to deliver credit to small enterprises and expand its market among women and farmer customers. The project built on the technical assistance component of a larger program, the granting of credit lines to the Misr Bank from Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KFW) and through the Social Development Fund. In the context of the program, NSCE focused on providing technical assistance to the Misr Bank staff in the field of managing small loans programs and marketing these loans to women and rural farmers. The firm designed a complete training program on technical management for bank officers, as well as on credit management and small and micro enterprise development.

1998-2002