Qalaa Holdings, an African leader in energy and infrastructure, said one of its business units, Finance Unlimited, has decided to sell off its entire holding in Egypt-based Tanmeyah Microenterprise Services to EFG Hermes for E£450 million ($57.3 million).

Tanmeyah Microenterprise Services was established in 2009 to provide financial services to Egypt’s large underserved micro- and very-small-enterprise tiers.

Qalaa Holdings had an effective ownership of 70 per cent in the company.

Commenting on the deal, Qalaa Holdings chairman and founder Ahmed Heikal, said: "We are extremely proud to have played a role in building a business like Tanmeyah that provides much-needed financial solutions to companies and individuals that would otherwise effectively be cut off from the financial system."

"It’s a company that continues to have excellent growth potential within the current business environment in Egypt and we look forward to seeing Tanmeyah leverage its existing infrastructure and systems to grow its nationwide network of branches even further in the years to come," he added.

Established in 2009, Tanmeyah provides financial services to Egypt’s large underserved micro- and very-small-enterprise tiers.

Tanmeyah had E£509 million ($65 million) in loans outstanding to 108,000 active borrowers at the end of 2015. The company, which has presently more than 1,500 employees at 114 branches across Egypt, has served more than 365,000 clients since inception.

"Qalaa Holdings has always tried to invest in businesses that spur job creation, develop human capital and provide products or services that will have a positive impact on the lives of average citizens," stated Heikal.

"While Tanmeyah directly addresses those at the base of the pyramid who have no access to the banking system, we have also invested in Ecaru, a subsidiary of Tawazon, and Qalaa’s energy play focusing on refused derived fuel for a variety of industries deemed vital for the Egyptian economy," he added.

According to him, the divestment of Tanmeyah is in line with Qalaa’s strategy, key elements of which include deleveraging at the holding and subsidiary company levels; acquisition of additional stakes in selective investments within its existing portfolio; and share buybacks.

Tanmeyah is the latest in a series of divestments for Qalaa that also includes Misr Glass Manufacturing (MGM), Rashidi Al Mizan and Asec Minya, he added.-TradeArabia News Service