Egyptian SMEs to receive €220 mln green funding boost from EBRD

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Union (EU) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) launched two on-lending programmes of €220 million ($258.8 million) in favour of Egyptian SMEs investing in green projects.

The Green Value Chain program will provide €70 million to SMEs to invest in “climate mitigation and adaptation solutions,” while the €150 million extension of the Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) will finance businesses in agriculture, construction and manufacturing.

The GEFF has directed €140 million to businesses through the National Bank of Egypt, AlexBank, Arab African International Bank (AAIB), and QNB AlAhli since its launch in 2014.

However, the bank did not disclose which banks it would work with to disburse the latest round of financing.

Building a greener economy has been a policy priority for the EBRD, saying in its latest Transition Report that transitions to a green economy in the post-covid-19 recovery must be a priority for its regions.

Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of the bank’s operations in Egypt in 2012, the EBRD has invested over €6.8 billion in 123 projects in the country, according to the bank’s official data.