The inaugural Mastercard Middle East and Africa (MEA) SME Confidence Index found that 73% of SMEs in Egypt are optimistic about the next 12 months.
As many regional economies gradually enter the normalization and growth phase, and social restrictions continue to ease, small and medium sized businesses in Egypt have identified access to training and development support (47%), better data and insights (45%) and accepting digital payments, as the top three drivers for growth.
“This highlights the opportunities for small businesses that arise from both internal transformation as well as industry regulations and trends,” the research said.
Making sure that SMEs have all the support they need to go digital and grow digital is a key focus for Mastercard.
However, Mastercard works the government, financial organizations and the wider business community to create opportunities for Egypt’s 1.7 million small businesses.
Earlier this year, the Central Bank of Egypt made it easier for SMEs to access capital by encouraging banks to raise their share of loans to MSMEs.
“SMEs are the engines of the economy, and despite the challenges they’ve faced because of the pandemic, many of them have been able to successfully access countless digital opportunities in our new commercial landscape,” the research highlighted.
