EIB eyes SME financing in Egypt

CAIRO – 19 September 2017: The European Investment Bank (EIB) is looking forward to diversifying their investment in Egypt to include small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the bank’s Head of Corporate Financing Nathalie Climence said Tuesday.

Speaking at a panel about industrialization and exports during the Euromoney Egypt Conference’s second day, Climence said that the EIB is willing to engage in small and medium industries that are economically rational and have a foreseeable strategy, to help them scale up.

“We will provide these small-sized companies with long-term lending and technical support… these firms don’t have to include European components in their products,” Climence said, adding that the EIB has set a minimum fund of €25 million ($29.9 million) for each of the benefiting companies.

The EIB has expanded its work in Egypt over the past three years as it financed a total of €2 billion for the infrastructure and energy sectors, Climence added.

Earlier this month, the EIB held an international conference in Cairo to call on the private sector to take the lead in investing to create job opportunities in the Mediterranean region.

Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation will sign a €172 million ($205 million) loan with the EIB in a few days to finance wastewater treatment projects.