The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provided the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) with a $30m credit line, in an attempt to support the development of small businesses in Egypt. This is an extension to the $50m loan provided by the international financial institution in December 2013.
The EBRD stated that the additional credit was given following the success of the first loan, adding that the funds should help develop the private sector.
“We are very proud to sign this new loan with NBE to further support small private businesses in Egypt,” said the EBRD’s first vice president and chief operating officer Phil Bennett. “Strengthening the private sector is one of the main pillars for the country’s economic growth and for the creation of job opportunities”.
In October, Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian stated that his ministry had received requests from international financial institutions, which included the EBRD, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the European Investment Bank (EIB), to participate in financing and constructing private sector projects.
Dimian claimed that the institutions’ interest in funding private sector partnerships reflects growing confidence in Egypt’s economy. The minister stated that this interest also supports the government’s ability to uphold the rights of investors and funders.
In August, the EBRD, along with the IFC, approved a $60m loan to complete the Mall of Arabia shopping centre.
EBRD has committed to 15 projects, with total investments of approximately €565m [$713m], Egypt director at the EBRD Philip ter Woort told the Daily News Egypt in October.
