The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade have signed an agreement to provide the finance needed to develop Eish baladi (Egyptian bread) bakeries.
The agreement aims to provide easy financing for bakery owners, to help them switch to natural gas fuel, as an alternative to diesel.
It continues the CBE’s efforts to support the Egyptian Government’s moves towards achieving economic development and the country’s vision for sustainable development 2030.
It also facilitates procedures for the owners of small enterprises and establishments, whilst encouraging them to use clean energy resources.
More than 28,000 municipal bakeries nationwide will benefit from the protocol as part of the national project to develop and modernise bakeries that seek to convert to the use of natural gas.
It allows them to benefit from the CBE’s small companies initiative, set up in January 2016, which provides a decreasing interest rate of 5%.
The agreement will help bakery owners raise efficiency by financing the installations of internal connections and gas meters.
It will also help with the cost of supplying and installing gas lighters, as well as replacing and renewing machines and equipment existing in bakeries, in coordination between banks and Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade offices nationwide.
The agreement comes as part of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s directives to maximise the use of Egypt’s natural resources and expand the use of clean energy.
This comes especially in light of Egypt’s move towards self-sufficiency in the use of natural gas, and falls in line with global trends for expanding the green economy. The agreement also highlights the move towards enhancing financial inclusion and the transformation of the digital economy.
