The United States Agency for International Development’s Egypt branch (USAID/Egypt), a division of USAID aimed at supporting economic development in Egypt, and BNP Paribas, a financial services provider based in France, recently agreed to a deal that has BNP Paribas loaning EGP 27 million (USD 4.65 million) to The Lead Foundation (Lead), an Egyptian microfinance NGO that was founded in part by USAID. USAID/Egypt is guaranteeing 50 percent of the principal amount.
