Ahli United Bank Egypt may receive up to USD 22 mn from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Global Climate Fund (GCF) for on-lending to Egyptian SMEs working on green projects, according to the EBRD’s website.
The finance would be disbursed to the Bahraini lender through two loans: one USD 12 mn loan funded by the EBRD and the GCF, and a second USD 10 mn facility provided entirely by the European lender. Both agreements were announced on Friday and are set to receive final approval in mid-September.
Both loans are earmarked for SMEs in agribusiness, manufacturing and services, and IT, but the first USD 12 mn agreement is specifically ring-fenced for capex investment in “climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies and services” under the EBRD’s green economy financing facility (GEFF).
The GCF will stump up USD 3 mn of the funding, while the EBRD will provide the remainder. The second agreement comes under the EBRD’s financial intermediaries framework.
