Feasibility Study for a Business Loan in Egypt: What Banks and MSMEDA Actually Ask For

Many founders start their search for finance with a sentence they hear everywhere: "the bank will ask for a feasibility study". It is partly true, but what the bank actually asks for, in what form and when, differs from one lender to another and from one finance product to another. A founder who prepares a file based on the general sentence may pay for a study nobody reads, or submit a study that does not meet the actual requirement.

For this article we reviewed the small-business finance product pages of several Egyptian banks and of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), and we examined a feasibility study for a shipping company that was accepted by Egyptian banks. We explain what lenders actually ask for, how they read a study, and how to prepare a file that gets through. Every requirement attributed to a specific lender is linked to its source at the end.

What lenders actually ask for

The table summarises what we found on the lenders' official pages in October 2026. Terms can change, and the final document list is set by the credit officer according to the nature of the project, so check with the lender before you apply.

The practical conclusion: an existing business with real financial statements is usually assessed on its historical numbers. A new business has no history, so the study is the only way to show it can repay, which is why the study requirement is tied to new projects in most cases. For micro projects financed through NGOs and intermediaries, a simplified study or a simple financial statement is usually enough⁵.

What does "a feasibility study from a certified public accountant" mean?

When a lender requires the study to come from a certified public accountant, it is asking not only about the content but for a responsible professional who has reviewed the numbers and signed them. In practice the study must have numbers an accountant can defend: clear assumptions with sources, and consistent financial statements in the usual accounting format.

That is different from the feasibility study that helps you decide. The first is meant to convince an outside party in the form it requires; the second is meant to tell you the truth before you invest. It is better to start with the second and turn it into the first if you decide to borrow, because a study built on honest numbers is the easiest to review and certify.

How a bank reads your application

The bank decides on a loan based on its own credit study, under its credit policy and Central Bank instructions⁶. Four questions come up again and again.

1. Can the project repay from its own cash flow?

MSMEDA describes the project's ability to succeed and continue as "the first guarantee" for obtaining finance, and sets grace and repayment periods according to the nature of the project, its cash flows and the credit study⁷. Banks follow the same logic: the instalment must be paid from the business's cash, not from hoping to sell an asset or from a partner stepping in.

2. What is your credit history?

Banks pull the applicant's credit report from I-Score, the Egyptian Credit Bureau, and add it to the credit-study documents; I-Score is the only licensed credit bureau in Egypt⁶. A late credit-card payment or a missed instalment shows up in that report, so check your position before applying.

3. What guarantees are available?

A bank may take guarantees over the project's assets and personal guarantees, according to its policy⁷. For MSMEDA's direct finance, its FAQ mentions insurance against the risk of non-payment, as a share of the loan value charged to the borrower, plus a personal guarantor⁴. The Credit Guarantee Company (CGC) also guarantees part of the facilities banks extend to economically viable small and medium enterprises, assessing each case as the bank presents it⁸.

4. Are the numbers consistent and reasonable?

A credit officer reads dozens of studies. A study that opens with global market figures and then assumes full sales from month one, or shows an income-statement profit that does not match the cash-flow table, loses credibility fast. Consistency between the parts of a study matters more than its page count.

What goes into a study a bank reads

We examined a feasibility study for a shipping company that was accepted by Egyptian banks. Its market section was generic, but what made it acceptable was a complete financial section in the accounting format banks know. Here is what this kind of study contains, plus what we consider necessary for it to be honest and not only acceptable in form:

Note that the bank reads financial statements in accounting format, which differs from the monthly table a founder uses to decide. A good study contains both: a monthly table that protects you from running out of cash, and annual statements the bank understands.

Example: from cash flow to what the bank reads

Let us return to the coffee-kiosk example worked through in our guide to feasibility studies in Egypt in 2026: EGP 310,000 of investment costs, settled sales of 3,000 cups a month after six months, and fixed costs of EGP 45,000 a month. Suppose the founder asks for an EGP 150,000 loan repaid over 36 months. The figures are illustrative, and the 22% annual interest rate is an assumption for the example, not a bank offer; for comparison, the Central Bank's overnight lending rate was 20% after its meeting on 24 September 2026⁹.

The monthly instalment

An EGP 150,000 loan at 22% a year on a declining balance over 36 equal instalments gives a monthly instalment of about EGP 5,729, or about EGP 68,743 a year.

Projected income statement (EGP)

We used the standard income-tax rate for simplicity. A business with turnover up to EGP 20 million may qualify for the simplified regime, taxed as a share of turnover, as explained in the guide.

Capacity to repay

The indicator the bank cares about here is the debt-service coverage ratio: cash available from operations after tax ÷ annual instalments (principal and interest). In the example:

A ratio above 1 means the business generates enough to pay the instalments; the higher it is, the bigger the safety margin. No single ratio applies to all banks; each sets its own under its credit policy.

The key lesson: profit is not cash

The income statement says year one ends with a net profit of about EGP 53,000. But the monthly cash-flow table in the same guide says the project's cumulative cash balance, before the loan, ends year one at minus EGP 139,000, after reaching minus EGP 386,500 in month four. The income statement spreads the cost of equipment over five years through depreciation, while you pay for it in full before opening, and the first months' sales are below their settled level.

That is why your file needs both. The annual statements are what the bank reads to measure profitability and repayment capacity; the monthly table is what sets the loan amount, its timing and the capital you must put in. In this example the loan (150,000) plus available capital (400,000) covers the deepest point of the cash balance (386,500) with a margin, whereas capital alone left only a thin cushion.

Test the instalment in the pessimistic case

The numbers above are the realistic case. But the bank, and you before it, should ask what happens if sales come in lower. In the pessimistic case for the same example (25% lower sales, 5% lower prices, a one-month delay in opening, 10% higher fixed costs and a slower ramp), the picture changes:

In year one operations do not cover the instalments at all, so they would be paid from capital. That does not mean the loan should be refused, but it calls for three decisions before signing: ask for a grace period at the start of the loan (MSMEDA notes that finance through banks can run up to five years, including a grace period of up to one year⁷); keep a cash reserve covering year-one instalments; and set an early indicator, such as average daily sales in month three, at which you will revisit your plan if it comes in lower than expected.

New business or existing business: two different files

An existing business has what a new one lacks: a history. Past balance sheets, bank statements and actual sales are evidence the bank reads directly. In that case the study needed is usually an expansion or working-capital study, built on historical numbers and showing the effect of the new finance on them.

A new business has only its assumptions, so the quality of the assumptions is the whole file: where the selling price comes from, the source of the unit cost, how the number of customers was estimated, and what happens if the numbers come in lower. A study that answers these questions with sources is what turns a new business from "an idea" into "a measurable risk" in the bank's eyes.

Practical tips for meeting the credit officer

• Start with questions, not the file: ask which product suits your activity and size, which documents are needed and what form the study should take, before paying for anything.
• Know your numbers without looking: selling price, unit cost, break-even, the deepest point of your cash balance and how you will pay in the first months. A founder who knows the numbers reassures a lender more than any number of pages.
• Present the pessimistic case yourself: it shows you have thought about the risks and opens the conversation about grace periods and guarantees, instead of having them imposed later.
• Be honest about your own contribution: the capital you put in is central to the risk assessment, and overstating it shows up in the documents.

Finance schemes and interest rates

When calculating the instalment, do not assume one interest rate for every business. The product pages of several banks still show the Central Bank's small-business initiative at a 5% declining rate¹⁰; at Banque Misr this rate applies to industrial, service and professional activities, while commercial activities get a competitive rate¹. The 2026/2027 budget also allocated about EGP 60 billion to subsidise interest on loans to productive sectors at 15%, with the Ministry of Finance covering the difference¹¹. These rates do not mean every business qualifies: each scheme has conditions on activity and sales size, which you should confirm with the bank before building the study on them.

In law, the MSME Development Law No. 152 of 2020 allows MSMEDA to provide concessional finance, tasks it with helping prepare preliminary feasibility studies, and lists exemption from or reduction of required guarantees among its incentives¹².

8 mistakes that weaken a finance file

1. Submitting an uncertified study to a lender that requires certification: ask what form of study is needed before preparing it.
2. An income statement with no cash table: paper profit hides the shortfall of the first months.
3. Leaving out depreciation, interest and tax from the income statement, so profit looks higher than it is.
4. Full sales from month one, with no set-up period or ramp.
5. Borrowing more or less than needed: the right amount comes from the deepest point of the cash balance, not a round number.
6. Ignoring the credit report: an old late payment can stop the application however good the study.
7. Assuming a subsidised rate before confirming that the activity qualifies.
8. Generic market figures with no sources: they undermine trust in the rest of the study.

Finance file checklist

• Ask the lender which product fits, which documents and what form of study are required, and whether certification by a chartered accountant is needed.
• Prepare the basic documents: national ID, commercial register, tax card, premises contract, and the licence or proof of its process.
• Check your I-Score credit report before applying.
• Prepare the study with a monthly cash table for at least one year, annual income and cash-flow statements for several years, and an investment-cost and depreciation schedule.
• Size the loan from the deepest point of the cash balance, and calculate the instalment and its coverage in the pessimistic case too.
• List the guarantees you can offer, and ask whether part of the loan can be guaranteed by the Credit Guarantee Company.

After you get the finance

A study does not lose its value when the loan is approved. In the first months, compare actual sales and the actual cash balance with the study every month. If a large gap appears, talk to the bank early about rescheduling or an extra grace period, before a delay turns into a default that shows on your credit report and closes doors to future finance.

Keep regular books and financial statements from day one. A business with one or two years of documented statements becomes an "existing business" in its next finance application, assessed on its real numbers, which opens higher limits and better terms in many products, as with the higher Al Ahly Business limits when financial statements are provided.

Conclusion

Ask before you prepare: which product, which documents, whether a study is needed, in what form, and whether it must be certified by an accountant. Then build an honest study first, so you know the truth about your project, and turn it into the statements the bank reads. A strong file is not the longest one; it is the one whose assumptions match its statements, which shows repayment capacity in the realistic case, and which admits what happens in the pessimistic case and proposes a remedy.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Banque Misr. تمويل المشروعات الصغيرة (in Arabic). Checked 14 October 2026.
2. NBE. برامج تمويل الأهلي بيزنس للقطاع الخدمي (in Arabic). Checked 14 October 2026.
3. CIB. Small Business Initiative: FAQs; Suez Canal Bank. برامج المشروعات الصغيرة والمتوسطة (in Arabic). Checked 14 October 2026.
4. MSMEDA. أسئلة شائعة (in Arabic); MSMEDA. الإقراض المباشر (in Arabic). Checked 14 October 2026.
5. MSMEDA. تمويل المشروعات متناهية الصغر (in Arabic). Checked 14 October 2026.
6. I-Score. من يتخذ قرار منح الائتمان؟ (in Arabic). Checked 14 October 2026.
7. MSMEDA. التمويل من خلال البنوك (in Arabic). Checked 14 October 2026.
8. Al Mal News. ضمان CGC: نمو إصدارات الضمانات (in Arabic) (2025-10-02) — secondary source; CGC. الضمان الفردي (in Arabic). Checked 14 October 2026.
9. Daily News Egypt. Egypt's annual urban inflation eases to 13.9% in September (2026-10-10) — secondary source; Egypt Today. CBE holds interest rates steady, keeps deposit rate at 19% (2026-09-24) — secondary source. Checked 14 October 2026.
10. NBE. برامج تمويل الأهلي بيزنس للقطاع الصناعي (in Arabic). Checked 14 October 2026.
11. Youm7. 60 مليار جنيه لدعم فائدة قروض القطاعات الإنتاجية بموازنة 2026/2027 (in Arabic) (2026-07-27) — secondary source. Checked 14 October 2026.
12. Andersen Egypt. Law No. 152 of 2020 (English translation), Arts. 24, 61, 66 (2026-06) — secondary source. Checked 14 October 2026.