شراكة بين ماستركارد و Levi Strauss & Co وMarks & Spencer وVanity Fair Corp لميكنة رواتب عمال المصانع

• 10,000 Egyptian workers benefit from the partnership between MasterCard and Levi Strauss & Co.
• The MasterCard program provides training for workers and achieves the goals of financial inclusion and integration into the formal economy

Cairo - January 15 , 2020 - MasterCard, a leader in digital payments, has announced the signing of a partnership with three global ready-to-wear manufacturers, Levi Strauss & Co. and Marks & Spencer and Vanity Fair Corp., to automate the salaries of workers in these factories, allowing them to be flexible and sustainable in getting their salaries securely.

This partnership comes in cooperation with the non-profit Business for Social Responsibility. The program works to improve the standard of living of factory workers, who number in the millions and represent a broad base of societies in developing countries who do not have access to financial instruments that provide them with modern means of payment that meet their needs flexibly and contribute to improving the standard of living for them and their families.

Regarding the Egyptian market, MasterCard and Levi Strauss & Co. A partnership to automate the payment of salaries and wages for more than ten thousand workers in Port Said Governorate, as part of the efforts undertaken by MasterCard to achieve financial inclusion and economic security. In partnership with the Commercial International Bank (CIB) - Egypt, MasterCard will offer various digital payment solutions to enable workers to obtain their salaries in an easy and secure way, make all payments and manage their money in a digital way through debit cards and electronic wallets via mobile phone. Factory owners will deposit wages into the accounts of workers, who will be able to activate their digital wallets that will enable them to pay for products, services and invoices, send money directly to their families and friends, as well as get cash in a convenient way.

Commenting on this, Mohamed Assem, Director of MasterCard Egypt, confirmed that "this pioneering initiative is part of MasterCard's efforts to integrate and empower ready-made garment factory workers and provide them with the same opportunities and services that the company provides to all segments of society in order to achieve financial inclusion, by empowering them with payment solutions." It helps them manage their money, increase their purchasing power, and integrate them into the formal economy.”

Mohamed Assem added: “This program supports the Egyptian government’s efforts in Port Said to automate all financial transactions and create a secure economic climate that benefits every citizen and achieves a better standard of living for all citizens. It is worth noting that Egypt is taking strong steps towards transforming into a digital economy, and we are pleased to contribute With our expertise and modern technological solutions to achieve this transformation.”

Tamer El-Desouky, Sustainability Manager at Lotus Garments, the Egyptian company that manufactures ready-to-wear for Levi Strauss & Co in Egypt, said: “We are proud to collaborate with all participants in this initiative, and we always look forward to achieving a positive, sustainable and tangible change in the lives of the world in our factories from By empowering them with modern financial means that contribute to improving their management of their financial resources for the benefit of them and their families.”

The garment industry is one of the important and distinctive industries in the Egyptian market, as it represents about 3% of the GDP, 27% of the industrial output and 10% of the total exports, which amounted to 534.8 million dollars in the third quarter of 2018. This industry is characterized by many Competitive advantages in Egypt, such as availability of trained labor and lower wage rates compared to other countries. [1]

By partnering with organizations that manage labor-intensive supply chains, including the apparel industry, MasterCard offers a program to automate factory workers' salaries, while providing training courses to help them have a more secure financial future. By linking salaries to banking solutions such as payment cards and digital wallets via mobile phones, regular payments contribute to the integration of thousands of citizens into the formal economy globally.

“MasterCard is a distinguished partner in this program because of its extensive experience and the infrastructure required for various digital payment systems,” says Michael Cobury, Vice President of Sustainability, Levi Strauss & Co.. “In addition to our ongoing commitment to achieving a better standard of living for workers in our factories, we look forward to seeing the results of the program We hope that the capabilities and benefits of digital payments will contribute to positive outcomes for workers across the apparel supply chain.”

It is worth noting that the ready-made garment industry is of great importance in Egypt, as it contributes to the employment of nearly one and a half million workers, representing 30% of the workforce in Egypt, and a large part of them are women, especially from families with limited incomes, and women represent More than 68% of the total number of workers in the field of ready-made garments globally.

In addition to supporting workers by empowering them with digital payments, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and BSR's HERfinance Digital Wages program have developed a plan to empower women in the apparel industry. HERfinance Digital Wages is part of HERproject, a leading workplace-based program in global supply chains to provide women with the necessary tools and skills to carry out their professional tasks through interactive workshops based on providing them with knowledge and skills in health, financial inclusion and gender equality. .

[1] https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/5465/egyptian-textile-industry-comes-under-the-global-radar