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Regulation and Supervision of Microfinance in Egypt
A practitioner's overview of regulation and supervision for the microfinance industry in Egypt
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17 pages
This essay provides a practitioner's overview of regulation and supervision of the microfinance industry in Egypt. The essay is divided into three sections: Section one introduces the reader to:
- The range of microfinance services offered;
- The institutional setup of the various service providers;
- The Egypt Microfinance Strategy as it relates to regulation and supervision.
Section two:
- Outlines relevant laws and regulations concerned with the micrfinance sector and service providers;
- Provides a brief description of the entities entrusted with the role of supervision and the practical application thereof;
- Ends with a discussion of the impediments to sector development/ service outreach that result from either legal aspects or supervision practices. These include constraints in the areas of:
- Access to funds;
- Checking of endorsement by the treasurer;
- Auditing and reporting requirements of the 'Ministry of Social Solidarity' (MSS);
- Interest rate restrictions.
Section three concludes the essay by:
- Highlighting current activities underway to overcome the impediments and expand service coverage.
- Discussing the following recommendations made by the author:
- Encourage adherence to reporting standards and performance benchmarks;
- Establish clear and unified criteria for financing MFIs;
- Institute the use of international rating agencies;
- Establish a non-prudential self-regulatory mechanism;
- Recognize specialized credit NGOS;
- Promote the establishment of non-bank commercial MFIs.
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