ALEXBANK, in cooperation with the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD), partners with Jumia to launch the “Ebda3 Men Masr (EMM)” Handicrafts Online Store

Cairo, Egypt – May 17th, 2020: The creative economy and handicraft sector have been one of the sectors in Egypt heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated 70% drop in sales revenues. Consequently, ALEXBANK, SFSD, and Jumia, officially announce a strategic partnership to launch the ‘Ebda3 Men Masr’ brand store on Jumia.com and Jumia’s mobile app. This dedicated brand store, aimed at promoting truly Egyptian handicrafts, will allow consumers to browse a rich products catalogue and purchase beautiful local handcrafted creations, bringing with this Egypt’s creative economy to ride the wave of e-commerce.

This initiative, supported by Yadaweya and Fair Trade Egypt for the products’ development and sourcing, offers the various ‘Ebda3 Men Masr’ artisans an exclusive space on Jumia’s platform where 400+ different products are now available for purchase, already connecting in this initial phase more than 3,700 artisans - of which over 80% women - and include 15 groups of artisans with disabilities coming from 22 different Governorates. 

“ALEXBANK keep staying solidly next to the valuable Egyptian handicrafts community in any circumstance, quickly responding to the challenges time by time may occur. This groundbreaking cooperation, with so qualified partners, allow promoting handcrafted products in a dedicated exclusive online store, displaying the recognized creativity of Egyptian artisans. In Jumia we have found an ideal partner that shares our ideals and our belief that true value comes through tangible marketing and sales initiatives.  We strongly believe that with this initiative we can accelerate the recovery of handicrafts’ production, and give the chance to many buyers to appreciate and purchase safely from their home truly Egyptian products to be proud of, often expression of century-old local traditions.” stated Dante Campioni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ALEXBANK.

Further commenting on the initiative, Noura Selim, Executive Director of the Sawiris Foundation added: “During these times of crisis, Sawiris Foundation is strongly committed to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the most marginalized communities in Egypt. We are immensely proud to take yet another step to support those most at risk, in particular the talented community of Egyptian artisans, which we have already been supporting through our programs and partnerships long before the crisis. Together with our strategic partner, ALEXBANK, who are a pioneer in the handicrafts sector, and Jumia, that shares our collective vision, we aim to showcase the skills of artisans from 22 Egyptian governorates through an innovative approach. Relying on Jumia’s well established online platform, we will launch a section exclusively dedicated to the artisans’ products and unique offerings, resulting in their economic empowerment.” 

 

“Jumia's support for ‘Ebda3 Men Masr’ initiative comes in line with Jumia’s belief that the true growth drivers of economies are MSMEs. Therefore, Jumia works on encouraging handicrafts as well as local products to try to promote these products via our platform, where we work on expanding the beneficiaries’ base of these products and open new markets through e-commerce platforms. Our unique ability to deliver products to the customer anytime and anywhere, while offering grants and benefits to encourage customers’ electronic purchases. This collaboration with ALEXBANK and Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) is the first of many pivotal platforms that we aim to partner on together in the coming months” commented, Hesham Safwat, CEO of Jumia Egypt.

To experience the EMM Brand store on Jumia, please visit: www.jumia.com.eg/Ebda3-Men-Masr

  

About Ebda3 Men Masr

‘Ebda3 Men Masr’ was launched by ALEXBANK in 2016 as part of its Creating Shared Value (CSV) model, blending the creation of social value with the growth of the economy. Ebda3 men Masr has grown into one of ALEXBANK’s main Corporate Social Responsibility platforms and it aims at reviving and supporting the handicrafts sector through creating opportunities for the economically marginalized, promoting women’s economic empowerment, endorsing youth employability and fair-trade practices as well as providing capacity building and vocational training for the sector. ‘Ebda3 men Masr’ has impacted more than 7,000 craftsmen across 5 years and held and participated in several local and international exhibitions in Cairo, Alexandria, Dubai, Milan, and Sharjah (UAE). 

 

About ALEXBANK:

Established in 1957, ALEXBANK is today one of Egypt’s leading private sector banks, participated by the Intesa Sanpaolo Group since 2007. ALEXBANK owns one of the largest private-sector branch networks with a total of 176 branches located in every major Egyptian governorate employing over 4,500 individuals who proudly serve about 1.5 million customers, playing a vital role in Egypt’s economic present and future. ALEXBANK actively serves the widest spectrum of segments by providing value-added financial products, services, and solutions to Retail, Small Business, Medium, and Corporate Enterprises. ALEXBANK is currently in the midst of a radical digital transformation aimed at providing our customers with the most unique of banking experiences, via our seamless multi-channel experience incorporating Internet & Mobile Banking, Cards, Electronic wallets, and the latest generation of point-of-sale & ATMs, all powered through the power of Big Data and empowered by key players in the Fintech ecosystem.

 

About Sawiris Foundation for Social Development:

The Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, since its inception in 2001, is one of the first family-funded foundations in Egypt. Founded by an endowment from the Sawiris family, the foundation has established a new paradigm for development in the country. Its core mission is to contribute to Egypt’s development, create sustainable job opportunities, and empower citizens to build productive lives that realize their full potential. SFSD has launched initiatives that encourage job creation, enhance efforts to improve healthcare, further the endeavors of local communities to improve infrastructure and gain access to basic services, avail quality education, as well as award cultural excellence. During the past 19 years, more than EGP one Billion have been invested, impacting the lives of over 280,000 Egyptians in 24 governorates. 

For more info about SFSD please visit our website: www.sawirisfoundation.org 

 

About Jumia:

Jumia is a leading e-commerce platform in Africa. It is built around a marketplace, Jumia Logistics, and JumiaPay. The marketplace helps millions of consumers and thousands of sellers to connect and transact. Jumia Logistics enables the delivery of millions of packages through our network of local partners. JumiaPay facilitates the payments of online transactions within Jumia's ecosystem. With over 1 billion people and 500 million internet users in Africa, Jumia believes that e-commerce is making people's lives easier by helping them shop and pay for millions of products at the best prices wherever they live. E-commerce is also creating new opportunities for SMEs to grow, and job opportunities for a new generation to thrive.