| The World Bank, in cooperation with the Ministry of Investment, held a seminar on Access to Finance in Cairo on March 17, 2008. The seminar aimed at highlighting that enhancing access to finance is essential for growth. It is crucial to ensure that the financial sector is able to provide an increasing array of products and services for different segments of the economy such as the corporate, the small and medium enterprises (SME), the rural, and the household sectors. At the seminar, two key World Bank reports were launched: the global report "Finance for All?", and the national report, "Access to Finance and Economic Growth in Egypt." The seminar was built around three pillars: (i) the analytic framework and research evidence; (ii) the Egypt specific circumstances in the financial and real sectors; (iii) the implications then for policy, programmatic and project interventions. The seminar concluded with a panel discussion on “The Way forward” which was chaired by Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Minister of Investment, who discussed the ideas put forth in the seminar, and placed them in the context of the ongoing implementation of the financial sector reform program in Egypt. “The Government of Egypt will continue to foster efforts on facilitating access to finance in Egypt. We hope that the findings and recommendations of this report would assist in the ongoing endeavors to meet this challenge,” Dr. Mohieldin said. On the other hand, Ritva Reinikka, Director of Social & Economic Development Group, Middle East & North Africa Region, presented the World Bank’s perspective. “The World Bank Group is committed to continuing work in the area of building inclusive financial systems, helping member countries design financial sector policies that encourage competition, provide the right incentives to individuals, and help overcome access barriers,” Reinikka emphasized. The Launch of 2 Key Reports:
The World Bank Group has long recognized that well-functioning financial systems are essential for economic development. Its financial sector work has, over the years, emphasized the importance of financial stability and efficiency. Measuring access to finance, its determinants, and its impact has been the focus of a major research effort at the Bank in recent years. Egypt was selected as the only destination in MENA to launch the global report “Finance for All?”. Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, senior research manager, finance and private sector at the World Bank, and lead author of “Finance for All?”, gave a presentation in the session of “Access to Finance: Setting the Stage: Analytical Framework and Research Findings.” She shared with the seminar attendees the main research findings and cross-country evidence and experiences. The report presents indicators to measure financial access, analyzes its determinants, and evaluates the impact of access on growth, equity, and poverty reduction, drawing on research that uses data both at the firm and household level. The report also discusses the role of government in advancing financial inclusion, and these policy recommendations are stressed throughout the report. At the seminar, the national report "Access to Finance and Economic Growth in Egypt" was launched. Sahar Nasr, Lead Financial Economist, Social & Economic Development Group, Middle East & North Africa Region based in the Egypt Country Office, and the Task Team Leader, gave a presentation about the issues discussed in her recent publication. She discussed Egypt’s indicators of access, recent reform efforts, policy, programmatic, and project interventions. She concluded with assessment of issues and challenges going forward. “The report helped inform the government’s efforts with the design of the second generation of financial reforms aimed at increasing the role of the private sector in financial services provision, particularly to SMEs and households, while strengthening risk management in financial institutions,” explained Nasr. The report draws on surveys of firms, banks and households to determine why so few firms—and households—use formal financial markets for their investment and saving needs, and why banks and other financial institutions are reluctant to extend credit, even in conditions of high liquidity. Seminar Discussions:
Zoubida Allaoua, Sector Manager; Finance and Private Sector Development; Social and Economic Development Group; Middle East and North Africa Region at the World Bank moderated the launching session of Finance for All? “Setting the Stage: Analytical Framework and Research Findings.” The launching session of the national report “Access to Finance and Economic Growth in Egypt” was moderated by Mr. Osama Saleh, Chairman, Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) and the panelists were: Mr. Mahmoud Abdel Latif, Chairman of Bank of Alexandria-San Paolo Egypt and Mr. Maged Shawki, Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange. Other sessions included: Access to Finance and financial development in Egypt; The Financial Sector Policy and Regulatory Perspective: Current Situation, international experience. The following dimensions of access were discussed by the seminar: indicators of access; macro and growth dimension of access; equity dimension of access; competition policy dimension of access; financial infrastructure dimension of access; regulatory and legal dimension of access; and cost dimension of access. During the two-day seminar, the Access to Finance was discussed from three main perspectives which are: the consumer perspective, the supplier perspective, the policy and regulatory perspective. The seminar brought together key stakeholders and participants in the financial sector. It was attended by policy makers and technical staff from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Investment, Central Bank, and other regulatory bodies; suppliers of financial services; consumers of financial services; and regulators of financial services. 
Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Minister of Investment; Ritva Reinikka, Sector Director of Social & Economic Development Group, MENA; Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, and lead author of “Finance for All". |
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