BANKING-

MDI applies for digital banking license: Banque Misr subsidiary Misr Digital Innovation (MDI) on Thursday submitted an official application for a digital banking license to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), becoming the first local company to do so, it said in a statement (pdf) Thursday. The company expects to launch the digital bank “within months” should it receive approval from the central bank, it said. We expect it to go live some time in early 2024.

Remember: Local media reported earlier this month that Banque Misr plans to launch the country’s first digital bank in 1Q 2024. The CBE last month published new licensing rules for digital banks, prompting a number of local firms to announce their intentions to apply, including Orascom Financial Holding (OFH), Ostoul Securities Brokerage, and OPay.

DEBT-

Aman Microfinance eyes EGP 200 mn loan to expand lending portfolio: Raya Holding’s consumer finance arm Aman Microfinance is in talks to borrow EGP 200 mn from the the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), it said in a statement (pdf) Monday. The financing would be used to expand the company’s lending portfolio and obtain new low-income clients. Aman received an EGP 100 mn loan from MSMEDA in March 2022.

COMMODITIES-

Sugar is now trading on the EMX: Orders worth 4k tons of sugar were executed on the commodity’s first day of trading on the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange (EMX) on Thursday, according to Youm7. The addition of sugar on the exchange comes as part of the government’s efforts to “organize markets for strategic and basic commodities,” exchange head Ibrahim Ashmawy said in a statement (pdf) ahead of the start of trading. He called on food industries, distribution and packaging companies, and traders who want to trade sugar on the bourse to register on the exchange portal.

Sugar is the fourth commodity to trade on the EGX, following successful listings of wheat, yellow corn, and bran, Ashmawy said, noting that a study is underway to list other commodities in the future.

The story got international coverage: Reuters.

TRANSPORT-

Pilot for next phase of Metro Line 3 to start in October: The National Authority for Tunnels will start testing the 3C phase of Cairo Metro Line 3 in October ahead of opening it to the public in the first half of 2024, the chairman of the authority said Tuesday, according to Ahram Online. The 18-km phase will extend the city’s metro system to the Rod El Farrag axis west of the ring road, and link Kit Kat to Cairo University via a separate line. The previous phase running between Ataba and Kit Kat opened last year.

LOGISTICS-

Egypt plans to establish a logistics zone on the Libyan border as it looks to increase trade with its western neighbor, according to Asharq Business. The zone will be built on an area of 300 feddans near the port in Salloum, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said in a speech in Marsa Matrouh on Wednesday.

E-COMMERCE-

B.TECH x Jumia: Consumer electronics retailer B.TECH is launching an online store on e-commerce platform Jumia, according to a joint statement (pdf)

SERVICES –

GIZ supports local outsourcing sector: German development agency GIZ will work with the Communications Ministry’s IT development agency to boost employment in Egypt’s outsourcing and IT industries under an MoU signed last week, according to a joint statement (pdf) on Wednesday. The agreement will see GIZ partner with ITIDA on initiatives to create new outsourcing jobs and increase the uptake of advanced technologies in the local electronics manufacturing sector.

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