SME finance and leasing outfit Ibtikar for Investment Finance applied for a license to launch micro-finance operations, MM Group chairman Khaled Mahmoud says, according to according to Al Borsa. Ibtikar, which was founded as a partnership between MM Group for Industry and International Trade and BPE Partners, is also looking to acquire a stake in an unnamed e-payments company. Ibtikar will begin offering factoring, leasing, and finance before the end of the year, says Mahmoud.