EFG Finance is getting ready to launch a new subsidiary to address a gap in market: EFG Finance, the non-bank financial services arm of EFG Holding, has obtained a license from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to set up a subsidiary for SME finance, the company said in a statement (pdf). The new company is poised to launch in 2Q 2024.

A red-hot market: SME finance jumped 237% y-o-y in 3Q 2023 to EGP 4.4 bn, according tothe latest data from the FRA (pdf). The number of beneficiaries also increased by about 231% y-o-y to 4.6k by the end of the quarter.

And there is an increasing demand in the market that needs to be addressed. Currently, most financing is split between large loans provided by banks as well as leasing and factoring companies and small loans offered through microfinance firms. Because of this, there is a large still unaddressed gap that the SME-regulated license can help address, Aladdin El Afifi, CEO of EFG Finance, told Enterprise.

Why a new license? The new license is needed to avail credit in different ticket sizes through different distribution channels and processing than those currently in place within the EFG Finance companies, El Afifi explained. With the new venture, EFG Finance, seeks to bridge the gap in its product offering with tailor-made financing products for SMEs, “targeting businesses that fall between the micro and small enterprises supported by Tanmeyah and larger enterprises served by EFG Corp-Solutions,” the statement read.

EFG Finance’s new platform plans to target clients who have minimum digital infrastructure to allow the platform to disburse loans digitally. The new company will acquire its clients directly and through partnerships with existing platforms serving these clients, El Afifi told Enterprise.

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