International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced five projects to support small- and medium-sized business development and job creation in Egypt and other parts of Africa in key sectors including climate finance, healthcare, and food security, the organization said in a statement. Building on IFC’s partnership with Banque Misr, a new project will scale up green finance in Egypt, speeding investments in energy efficiency, sustainable transport, green buildings, and renewable energy. Backed by a $150 million investment, the project also expands access to finance for micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, with 20 percent of lending going to women-owned businesses.
IFC also launched an advisory program with Export Development Bank of Egypt to develop data governance and climate reporting mechanisms under IFC’s Egypt30by30 program. Through this, the bank will identify and track the impact of green transactions, increasing its work on climate-positive projects. A partnership with GlobalCorp Group, one of Egypt’s leading NBFI platforms, will expand access to leasing and factoring for MSMEs, with a focus on businesses in vulnerable communities. Supported by a dual-currency investment of $30 million, the project includes IFC’s first local-currency securitization in Egypt and the country’s first DFI investment in a leasing securitization.
A partnership with GMED Holding and its subsidiaries will expand access to quality healthcare across Egypt and East Africa through increased production capacity and high-quality medical products and equipment, supported by a $15 million investment. A partnership with Breadfast, a multi-vertical consumer supply-chain technology platform, will speed business expansion and create jobs across logistics, manufacturing, technology, and customer service, supported by $13 million.
The five projects were signed during a visit to Egypt by IFC’s Vice President for Africa, Ethiopis Tafara, and at the “Innovating for Resilience: Financing for a Sustainable Future” forum, co-hosted by the World Bank Group and the Central Bank of Egypt.
Since beginning operations in Egypt, IFC has invested and mobilized nearly $10 billion in development projects and has an advisory portfolio of $27 million in the country.
