Launching a lending facility with consumer-driven communications

The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) wanted to expand its capacities in lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), to sustainably and effectively provide multi-purpose loans to MSMEs across the country.

CID worked with DAI in order to launch the NBE’s new lending facility; providing recommendations and assisting with the implementation of measures to expand the company’s SME lending and risk management framework. We reviewed NBE’s existing strategy and portfolio of MSME products and used our knowledge of the market to assist with new product development which reflected both consumer needs and the client’s strategy. Good products are of little use however unless consumers are aware of them, so we worked closely with NBE to construct a marketing communications plan which effortlessly aligned with the bank’s wider strategy. Finally, in order to institutionalize our intervention, we worked with NBE to design and establish the MSME Advisory Services Unit with a dual role of providing financial and non-financial services to MSME Clients.

CID and its partner DAI effectively enabled NBE to serve MSME Clients through a range of financial and non-financial services – the latter being a completely new and innovative introduction to the banking sector in Egypt. We also successfully designed and produced a creative marketing communications tool kit that effectively defined the key benefits of the facility and provided information needed to reach the right audience and spur engagement. In doing so, we helped medium and small businesses utilise NBE’s evolved capabilities and range of products contributing to The National Bank of Egypt's (NBE) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to reach LE 37.5 billion ($2.1 billion).