EBRD offers NBK Egypt up to $100M loan to support SMEs

CAIRO – 7 June 2020: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a loan of up to $ 100 million to the National Bank of Kuwait Egypt (NBKE) for on-lending to private businesses, with a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) in Egypt, International Cooperation Minister Rania Al-Mashat announced Sunday.

Al-Mashat noted that this loan is to address the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The loan is the second in the country under the EBRD’s coronavirus Solidarity Package, established to meet the immediate short-term financing needs of existing clients,” she said.

The Minister emphasized the importance of Egypt’s partnership with EBRD, referring that its role was not restricted to supporting development projects but also extended to assist private sector business, to respond to liquidity needs for SMEs and corporates experiencing slowdown and payment delays or increased capacity needs.

Moreover, she revealed that the financing was among other loans provided to banks operating in Egypt by various development cooperation partners, engaging in effective public-private partnerships.

“This step also came as an outcome of the virtual roundtable held by the Ministry of International Cooperation on April 2nd, which gathered more than 100 representatives of international financial institutions and private sector businesses to address the short, medium- and long-term impact of the pandemic,” She clarified.

“This agreement in line with the Ministry’s Global Partnerships Narrative that redefines value of development efforts with Egypt’s multilateral and bilateral partners with public-private partnerships in place that accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” Al Mashat added.

On its part, EBRD revealed that it dedicated all of its activities to help overcome the economic implications of the pandemic and that it had stepped up its support with a response and recovery program to help emerging economies.

Since the inception of its operations in Egypt in 2012, EBRD has invested around €6.5
billion in 115 projects, with a total of 56 percent allocation to private sector.