Cairo – Mubasher: Egyptian businessman and billionaire Naguib Sawiris said he was looking to establish a private bank in Egypt if authorities would allow it.

“If the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt [CBE] gives me a license for a bank, I’ll open it tomorrow,” Sawiris said during a session at the World Youth Forum (WYF) entitled “Entrepreneurship and Innovation – The Youth Shape the Future of the World.”

Sawiris, who is currently chairman at Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT) told Forbes that he had previously applied for a licence to launch a private bank but the CBE had refused.

The business mogul said that the bank he was looking to open would mainly invest in and support entrepreneurs who are often neglected by the larger banks.

“Entrepreneurs have not received enough funds from the Egyptian banks,” Sawiris said, calling on the CBE to initiate programmes that enable small businesses, simple industries, and medium-sized enterprises across Egypt to have easy access to capital.