CDC Group, the UK’s impact investor and development finance institution, has invested $440m and supported 41 local companies in Egypt, which employ more than 30,000 people, according to Sherine Shohdy, CDC’s Coverage Director in Egypt.
Her remarks came during a webinar held by the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) in collaboration with CDC Group, to discuss the Institution’s operations and investment priorities in helping to solve infrastructure and climate challenges in Egypt and across Africa.
The webinar hosted Shohdy, and Chris Chijiutomi, Head of Infrastructure Equity, Africa at CDC. The session was moderated by Khaled Zaki, Chief Operation Officer of DMC network.
“We have over 70 years of experience in investing and supporting the sustainable and long-term growth of business across Africa and Asia, in addition to supporting the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) which is the core of all our investment decisions”, said Shohdy.
She added that CDC has a total portfolio value of $9.3bn of which 60% is invested in Africa, and it has invested in more than 1,000 businesses across 67 countries in Africa and Asia, in sectors including infrastructure, education, and healthcare.
Chijiutomi said that since 2017, infrastructure represents about 30% of CDC’s current portfolio. “We see that infrastructure is a priority for Egypt, as demonstrated by the expansion the country is undergoing, as the government works on replacing 42% of its energy sources with renewable by 2035,” he stated.
In regard to CDC’s recently announced partnership with DP World, Chijiutomi said that this is a strategic long-term partnership which includes further investments in developing the Ain Sokhna Port in Egypt and helping to consolidate Egypt’s position as a global logistics and manufacturing hub.
He added that the expansion of Ain Sokhna port will support industrial growth and trade from Egypt across the Middle East and Asia. The port will increase job opportunities, enabling 1.4 million jobs, of which 26,000 will be created through the ongoing expansion, and increase access to critical goods and staples for 16 million people.
On combating the challenge of climate change, Chijiutomi stated that CDC is providing climate finance investment to back renewable energy projects such as solar, wind or hydroelectric energy across the continent, as part of its support for Africa’s energy transition.
Shohdy stressed the company’s efforts in supporting Africa during Covid-19 crisis. “Our COVID-19 response was based on three main pillars ‘Preserve, Strengthen, and Rebuild’ with the objective of supporting companies to build back better, as they recover from the pandemic.”
