Small and micro projects are being urged to adopt digital payments by the Financial Regulatory Authority, which has launched its Digital Financial Inclusion for 2021 initiative in a bid to speed up the formalization of the economy and the transition to a cashless society, Masrawy reports. The regulator will run a series of seminars and training sessions in January to raise awareness among micro lenders about the benefits of e-payments. Some EGP 18.2 bn has currently been lent to micro projects. FRA chairman Mohamed Omran voiced optimism that 1Q2021 will see an acceleration of the use of digital payments among micro projects, especially given the influence of the pandemic which has over the past 12 months encouraged the use of fintech among businesses and individuals alike.

In other microfinance news: NCB Capital’s microfinance subsidiary could obtain the necessary licenses to begin operating within the next two months. The microfinance firm will have a starting capital of EGP 150 mn.