Ebda3 men Masr

Launched in 2016 as the first strategic partnership under Ebda3 men Masr, and over the course of 2 years, the project has impacted a total of 3,600 artisans in clusters across eleven governorates, through capacity building, in addition to providing them with marketing and sales opportunities in collaboration with ALEXBANK.

Partner: Fair Trade Egypt Association

After three years of addressing critical issues like reviving traditional handicrafts, improving socioeconomic conditions of marginalized women and youth of Upper Egypt, and breaking the stereotype of male-dominated crafts, “Ebda3 men Masr” in collaboration with the Egyptian Network for Integrated Development (ENID) provided 1,200 women with tailored crafts-based training. 

Partner: Egyptian Network for Integrated Development (ENID)

One of “Ebda3 men Masr” most important milestones is our partnership with Yadaweya, which has been significantly impacting the lives of more than 800 craftsmen and their families across six governorates since 2017. The partnership not only revived and developed almost extinct craftsmanship like Telli and Siwa salt carving, but it also provided sales opportunities for its artisans, created a comprehensive map of handicrafts in Egypt and a children’s book that tells the story of the Egyptian handicrafts, their heritage and cultural ties to the numerous communities for the first time in Egypt.

Partner: Yadaweya 

Since 2015, ALEXBANK has been supporting the Tunis Village Annual Pottery Festival in terms of organization and marketing. The festival has so far helped improve the living conditions of all Tunis Village potters and craftsmen, in addition to nearby villages where everyone displays their products for direct sales opportunities.

Starting in 2017, ALEXBANK in cooperation with the Alwan Foundation, launched a beautification initiative covering more than 1,500 square meters of drawings that reflect the culture of the villages in their streets. The project is on-going to continue beautifying the walls and streets of Tunis Village to reflect the authentic beauty and nature of Fayoum; giving Tunis Village a leading role in tourism. 
Partners: Fayoum Governorate, the Tunisian Association of Village Experts, and the Alwan Foundation.

A handmade carpet production facility and training center, projected to produce high-quality carpets for the export market. 150 students will be trained and equipped with skills that will enable them to directly contribute to improving the local carpet industry, with the prospect of employment in the facility.
Partners:  Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD), Egyptian Chamber of Handicrafts, Egyptian Export Council for Handicrafts, Ministry of Trade and Industry (through The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency MSMEDA)Partners: Fayoum Governorate, Tunis Village Potters Association and Alwan Foundation

In 2017, ALEXBANK launched the first World Fair Trade Certification Program in Egypt to support 22 active members of the creative economy. Eleven of these craftsmen received provisionary certificates by 2018, opening up the international market for their merchandise.
Partners: Egyptian Export Council of Handicrafts and the World Fair Trade OrganizationPartners: Fayoum Governorate, Tunis Village Potters Association and Alwan Foundation

ALEXBANK and the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) launched “Qesetna Fi Herfetna” aiming to integrate persons with disabilities into "Ebda3 men Masr" by providing them with a quality handicrafts training program. The project is planned to build the capacity of more than 500 young men and women with motor, visual, audio or mental disabilities in four governorates and over the course of four years. To achieve real inclusion, target beneficiaries will join their non-disabled peers in trainings to psychologically prepare all participants for dealing with disabilities in the labor market as well as raise awareness comprehensive integration among their families.
Partners: Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, Caritas Egypt, Regional Association for development and Enterprises (RADE) Foundation and Yadaweya AssociationPartners: Fayoum Governorate, Tunis Village Potters Association and Alwan Foundation

As part of Ebda3 men Masr (EMM), ALEXBANK’s sustainability flagship initiative and as an extension of ALEXBANK’s financial inclusion activities, the Bank designed a microloan product for Egyptian handcrafters in order to further empower them. With competitive interest rates and simplified payments as well as a micro savings account, a debit card and a mobile wallet, the EMM microloan is reflected in ALEXBANK’s efforts in creating a microloan tailored specifically for handcrafters’ needs and the nature of the Egyptian handicrafts sector. In addition to the financial package, a bouquet of customized non-financial services was designed including: legal advisory services, business skills training sessions, digital marketing training and consulting services, an opportunity to sell and market products on an e-commerce platform.

The EMM Microloan Proposition is expected to create business value for

ALEXBANK in the sense of serving the underbanked handicrafts men and women (aged 21 - 65) under EMM who were not encouraged to borrow under the traditional microfinance product.

To date, 92 microloans have been disbursed 84 are active while 8 have been paid back in full and closed.