By Hamed Mahmoud
Canal Sugar – the largest private integrated agro-industrial project since 1950-, and Etisalat Egypt – the integrated operator of telecom services- announced the signing of the first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of its kind in the agricultural sector. The MoU provides a bundle of the best digital services and electronic payments’ services to Canal Sugar’s contractual growers. As it facilitates their cash payments from Canal Sugar when they deliver their sugar beet crops to the company.
The terms of the MoU are consistent with the state’s directives towards digital transformation in financial transactions. Consequently, the MoU enhances the generalisation of financial inclusion concept, which will have a positive impact upon the Egyptian economy.
The MoU provides digital financial tools to the groups of people who face difficulties in reaching banking institutions. Canal Sugar takes this step, as it is keen on facilitating its financial transactions with its contractual growers.
According to the signed agreement, Etisalat Egypt will provide the growers with mobile lines and consequently, create E-wallets to all the subscribers. The growers will receive text messages informing them with the dates of which they could receive their payments conveniently from any of Etisalat’s branches in Egypt.
Moreover, Etisalat Egypt will establish a branch of its own inside Canal Sugar’s factory, so that the growers would conveniently withdraw or deposit their payments through Etisalat Cash wallet.
Islam Salem, CEO of Canal Sugar expressed his excitement about co-operating with Etisalat Egypt, one of the largest companies providing mobile phones’ services and data transfer in Egypt and the region. Salem highlighted that the MoU is consistent with the state’s directives towards digital transformation in financial transactions as well as enhancing the financial inclusion. Salem also said: ” Moreover, on every occasion, the President emphasises on the importance of these crucial issues. Therefore, the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt established implementation mechanisms with banks and telecommunications companies”.
Islam Salem added : ”The co-operation with Etisalat Egypt comes within Canal Sugar’s strategies and its social responsibility towards our growers, as we are keen on developing the work mechanism with our growers in the ways that are beneficial to them”.
From his side, Hazem Metwally, CEO of Etisalat Egypt expressed his gladness about signing the agreement with Canal Sugar for it is a pioneering company in its field, and it deals with a wide range of growers who had never optimally benefited from the technology tools and the telecommunications services. Metwally pointed out that the MoU with Canal Sugar will provide the farmers with mobile lines and electronic payment services through ”Etisalat Cash”, so that the growers would receive their payments conveniently and quickly.
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