Jasmin Fouad is an associate professor of economics and finance at the Department of Management, School of Business, The American University in Cairo (AUC). She has worked as a training manager at the Egyptian Banking Institute (2004-2006) and as an economic advisor to the chairman of the National Postal Office (2006-2007), and advisor to the chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (2009-2011). She was the deputy manager of the International Relations Office at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science (2013-2014) and the manager of the Center for Economic and Financial Research and Studies during the period (2014-2016). She was the academic coordinator of the Professional Master in Gender and Development at Cairo University and the manager of the women’s unit (2016-2019). She is a consultant to numerous international entities in Egypt ( UNDP, ILO, and UNESCO). She is also a member of Cairo University’s committee on the national anti-corruption strategy and a member of the Economic Committee of the Ministry of Culture, Egypt. She has organized national and international conferences and published national and international articles on corporate social responsibility, microfinance, the Egyptian stock exchange, foreign direct investment, financial regulation, central bank independence, mergers and acquisitions, family planning and gender-responsive budgeting.
In Egypt, the role of public development banks is played by three government-owned commercial banks, namely National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr and Banque du Caire. This column outlines the contributions they have made to the economy in recent times, including maintaining financial stability, promoting small businesses and enhancing financial inclusion. Digitalisation, financing the budget deficit and the aftermath of the pandemic are continuing challenges.