• Pierre Finas: “the initiative stems from the bank’s strategy aiming to achieve the leadership in sustainability across all activities and usefulness to all our stakeholders.”
• Assem Ragab: “Youth are the future leaders, and giving them support is the goal of Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development.”

Cairo, August 9, 2018 – Pursuant to its belief in the role of the private sector in youth development, Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development has celebrated the graduation of the first batch of “Ebhar Misr” Initiative. In the presence of Dr. Sahar Mashhour, Advisor to the Minister of Social Solidarity , a representative of the Minister, Dr. Ahmed Hashish, Deputy Minister for Leadership Development, a representative of the Minister, and Dr. Hala Abdulsalam, Director of the department of talent in the Ministry of Education. The initiative was launched in collaboration with “Education First Foundation” to encourage and motivate talented students in several fields nationwide.

The celebration was held in the presence of Mr. Assem Ragab –Chairman of Crédit Agricole Egypt and Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development, Mr. Hassan Serag El Din – General Manager of Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development – and Mrs. Randa Kamel – Secretary-General of Education First Foundation, in addition to a number of public figures in the sector of education, including Dr. Hossam Badrawi – education expert and Head of the Advisory Committee of Education First Foundation – and a number of Crédit Agricole Egypt VIP clients.

This initiative confirms the importance given by Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development for youth. In partnership with Education First Foundation, Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development has sponsored a summer program for talented students in the fields of science, technology, arts and music nationwide. The Foundation honors the students and showcases graduation projects and the progress accomplished in the presence of Dr. Sahar Mashhour, Advisor of the Minister of Social Solidarity.

Mr. Pierre Finas – Managing Director of Crédit Agricole Egypt – seized this opportunity to shed light on the bank’s strategy, aiming to achieve the leadership in sustainability across all its activities, expanding the bank’s presence and being useful to all our stakeholders including our clients, employees, environment and community where it has been operating for more than 10 years. Mr. Finas said: “Launching Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development and its initiatives is an integral part of Crédit Agricole Egypt’s strategy and Credit Agricole Group’s core values, which are based on creating an impact in our society.”

Mr. Assem Ragab – Chairman of Crédit Agricole Egypt and Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development – said: “The philosophy of Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development targets youth in all its initiatives. This philosophy stems from the bank’s vision that Egypt’s future is its youth, who represent 60% of the country’s population. In Ebhar Misr, we work on developing students’ talents in collaboration with Education First Foundation.”

He added: “Therefore, we are aiming to create a base comprising Egyptian talents in different sectors and empowering them to become future leaders in order to take part in community development and prosperity. We strongly believe that this initiative will put these talents on the right track to make a difference in the community and make their country proud.”

Crédit Agricole Egypt not only supports Ebhar Misr financially, but the bank employees also volunteer to give lectures to students at Crédit Agricole head office. The lectures are about the significance of financial inclusion and doing activities with the staff.  All students will be awarded and top performers will receive a special prize a trip to the USA

Mrs. Randa Kamel – Secretary-General of Education First Foundation – was thrilled about the partnership with Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development. She said: “For the first time, Education First Foundation goes a different way. The foundation has always supported the top achievers, but – this time – the foundation supports the talented through partnering with Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development, which launched this initiative.”

Mrs. Kamel added: “We have contacted a number of ministries, which nominated approximately 200 talented students nationwide. Tests were made before specialized committees, and 25 students aged between 14 to 18 years of age were selected to attend a scholarship in different fields, especially in science and technology. 15 students, who are talented in science and technology were chosen, which is in line with the government’s digital transformation policy and the policy of Crédit Agricole Egypt as well.

Established in 2017, Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Foundation for Development seeks to expand in serving and enhancing the lives of the unprivileged and give back to the community via sustainability-oriented projects, building on the bank’s extensive experience and trademark. The foundation operates in the fields of education, health, entrepreneurship and other fields that contribute the most to changing people’s lives for the best.

Education First Foundation – affiliated to the Ministry of Social Solidarity – mainly targets supporting the country’s education system through enhancing the capacities of the sector’s staff and motivating and encouraging top-achieving students in different fields, in addition to serving as a link between NGOs and the government to support the education in Egypt. For three years, the foundation has worked on different sectors to train teachers and support top-achieving students.