Some 30k MSMEs are up for a combined EGP 200 mn in government financing within five years through the Local Development Ministry's Local Development Fund, Minister Mahmoud Shaarawy said in a statement. The fund has doled out north of EGP 48 mn in loans to 5,449 projects between September 2019 and February 2021, with women-led businesses accounting for 69% of the pot. The ministry is currently mulling cutting the interest rate on its loans for women breadwinners in rural areas to 4% instead of the current 6%, as well as offering loans at a 5% interest rate for drip irrigation projects.

ALSO THIS MORNING: EgyptAir has signed an MoU with Sudan Airways to provide training and advisory as Sudanese authorities look to modernize their aircraft fleet.

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