World Bank’s IFC invests $10 million to support Egypt’s energy sector

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced on Sunday the allocation of up to $10 million to support Egypt’s energy sector.

The investment is in favour of Globaltronics, an Egyptian company that manufactures electricity measurement solutions, to help it expand the installation of digital prepaid and smart electricity metres in Egyptian homes.

The IFC investment will support government reforms to improve accuracy in billing, give consumers more payment options, and provide consumers with better information about their energy use in order to encourage savings.

According to an IFC statement, the financing will enable Globaltronics to back government plans to replace outdated meters with prepaid and smart digital meters as part of ongoing energy reforms. Prepaid digital metres improve billing accuracy, and offer more convenient payment options, the statement read.

Prepaid metres also contribute to overall reduced energy consumption by making it easier for consumers to track their energy use.

The IFC said that the new investment will help Globaltronics set up a new manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia and increase its investment in research and development to boost exports and develop new products.

Globaltronics is looking forward to investing and raising its business in the Egyptian market and to continue expanding in the Middle East and Africa, said its founder and chairman Hany Assal.

Along with supporting manufacturing, the project is part of the World Bank Group’s strategy to help Egypt optimise its overall domestic electricity consumption, which in turn will help the government reduce subsidies to the energy sector.

Walid Labadi – IFC’s Country Manager for Egypt, Yemen, and Libya – said that Egypt’s electricity consumption has witnessed an increase in growth in recent years and is likely to accelerate further.

Such a project is part of the IFC’s strategy to support the government in its reforms of the sector and boost energy efficiency, while also helping a local company expand in the region and diversify its offering, Labadi added.

Egypt is a priority country for the IFC in the region, given that the its total commitments in the North African country are over $4 billion since 2005, including financing mobilised from other investors, according to IFC data.

Globaltronics is the main supplier and manufacturer of electricity smart grid solutions to the Egyptian market.