According to the EBRD’s website, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is offering a financing package of US$50 million (€46 million) to Banque du Caire (BDC), one of Egypt’s largest banks to boost support to the country’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with US$10 million (€9.2 million) set aside for women entrepreneurs.
Jürgen Rigterink, EBRD’s First Vice President and Head of the Client Services Group, and Tarek Fayed, BDC Chairman and CEO, signed the agreement at EBRD’s London headquarters.
BDC’s credit line aims to increase access to finance for Egyptian MSMEs and expand its reach to new clients across the country.
Under the EBRD’s Women in Business (WiB) program, BDC will provide up to US$10 million (€9.2 million) to women-owned or led businesses to help them bridge the financing gap and increase their competitiveness.
An EBRD-funded technical cooperation package will supplement the WiB loan, offering advisory and capacity-building services to beneficiaries. The package will also assist BDC in testing and deploying new WiB products to better meet the needs of female-led MSMEs, thereby improving access to finance.
Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since 2012, the EBRD has invested more than €11 billion in 174 projects in the country. The EBRD invests in various sectors, including finance, agribusiness, manufacturing, and services and infrastructure projects like power, municipal water and wastewater services, and transportation upgrades.
