Egypt’s Future Businesswomen Association is preparing for a significant expansion, aiming to raise its financing portfolio to EGP 200 million by 2026, signaling a broad shift from its early days as a small local organization to a centrally positioned development network with growing national reach.
The association’s Chairwoman, Hala Abu El-Saad, described an ambitious strategy that merges microfinance with social development. The group now manages 26 development initiatives, from cutting-edge AI training programs for children to disability-integration centers and rural economic revival projects including handmade textiles and fish-processing ventures across the Delta.
Simultaneously, Abu El-Saad, in her capacity as President of the Egyptian Microfinance Federation, is leading a sweeping regulatory campaign to clean up the sector. A nationwide review uncovered 513 licensed associations that had failed to initiate activity. Of these, 258 have been suspended, and 225 are likely to have their licenses revoked, in what officials describe as a long-overdue market correction.
The review also revealed structural challenges: while 30 associations were genuinely active, most smaller groups struggle under the financial weight of digital transformation and cybersecurity standards—requirements increasingly necessary to remain competitive in Egypt’s rapidly modernizing financial ecosystem.
