EBRD provides NBE with $119.5 mn to support MSMEs in Egypt

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is extending an initial US$ 119.5 million (€109 million) A/B loan to the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), for on-lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Egypt. This first portion, which includes a B loan mobilised from the Dutch-based and SDG-focused asset manager ILX Fund, falls under a potentially larger financing programme that could be carried out in several stages. This is the first loan with an A/B structure that has been made to a bank in Egypt.

The EBRD’s financing under this loan structure should help to mobilise the private-sector funding necessary for economic development, while diversifying NBE’s funding base and supporting its financial inclusion agenda.

This credit line will target businesses with a regional focus that are owned or led by women or young people, which remain underserved in Egypt.

NBE is the largest commercial bank in Egypt. Its cooperation with the EBRD, which began in 2013, has included trade finance lines, credit lines that support the financial inclusion of under-served segments of the economy, and fostering renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of the Bank’s operations there in 2012, it has invested more than €11.9 billion in 178 projects, 81 per cent of which have been in the private sector.