GB Corp is bidding to capture a slice of Egypt’s growing SME lending market with the launch of a new subsidiary, Kredit, it announced in a statement (pdf)yesterday. The lender has acquired a license from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) and is now providing financial services to SMEs, which remain an underserved segment in the local market.

About the company: Kredit provides lending and mentoring services to local SMEs. It offers a range of specialized products and services including short, medium, and long-term financing. The firm will offer tailored financing schemes to priority areas including the manufacturing sector, women-led businesses, and green projects.

SMEs power the economy but continue to face problems accessing finance: SMEs account for more than 75% of Egyptian businesses and create the bulk of the jobs in the economy, but continue to face challenges accessing finance. “Many SMEs face challenges in obtaining credit from traditional sources due to their size, lack of collateral, or limited credit history. This creates a [chance] for alternative lenders to fill the financing gap and cater to the underserved SME segment,” GB Capital CEO Tamer El Emary told Enterprise.

This is the latest addition to a growing line-up of non-bank financial services offered by GB Capital:“Kredit represents the natural progression of our already established and fast-growing NBFI portfolio of offerings in leasing, consumer finance, micro financing, factoring, securitization, fleet-leasing, mortgage finance and life ins. to cater to a wider segment of clients,” El Emary said. “GB Capital intends to identify new opportunities to further expand its presence in the financing space.”

Not just a car company: The company (FKA GB Auto) recently rebranded itself as GB Corp, reflecting its growing footprint in other sectors such as finance (GB Capital) and logistics (GB Logistics).

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