Lead Foundation

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
Albert Einstein

“Nothing that I have done in my career has made me prouder than the work of the Lead Foundation. Its work is crucial.”
Sir Mohamed Mansour, Founder, Lead Foundation

Creating opportunities

The Lead Foundation, founded in 2003, is helping to alleviate poverty in Egypt. Set up as a not-for-profit, the organisation provides loans to women-owned micro enterprises.

Helping ambitious women to prosper as entrepreneurs and become more financially independent has been the mission of the Lead Foundation, our not-for-profit lender, for 20 years. Founded in Egypt in 2003, the organisation has produced economic and social change in the country.

Set up as a not-for-profit, the Lead Foundation provides loans to women who are unable to access credit from commercial banks and other traditional sources. Since its inception, the focus has always been in providing support to female entrepreneurs and small business owners and nearly 90% of all its loans over the years – over five million loans to over a million borrowers – have been provided to women.

The Lead Foundation has 17 branches throughout Egypt and functions like a bank. Many of the loan officers are women and make lending decisions based on the personal integrity of the applicant. It is relatively rare for borrowers to get into arrears or fail to pay back their loans – in normal market conditions, the proportion of loans that under-perform is less than 0.5%.

Most loans are group loans – small communities of women who pool capital and guarantee each other’s credit. Clients use the capital to buy a sewing machine, some other useful piece of equipment or something that they can use to make an honest and decent living. The organisation also provides individual loans and insurance.

Find out more at the Lead Foundation.

“Nothing that I have done in my career has made me prouder than the work of the Lead Foundation. Its work is crucial.”
Sir Mohamed Mansour, Founder, Lead Foundation

Image credits: Lead Foundation; Getty Images