IFC Backs Five Egypt Projects in Climate Finance, Healthcare and SMEs

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALFebruary 20, 2026 at 7:51 AM UTC

TLDR

IFC signed five projects in Egypt focusing on climate finance, healthcare, food security, and small business support.
IFC's $150 million investment with Banque Misr supports green finance, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and MSMEs, with focus on women-owned businesses.
Egypt is prioritizing sustainable finance and private sector growth, with a shift towards low-carbon assets and green lending to support economic resilience and job creation.

The International Finance Corporation signed five projects in Egypt focused on climate finance, healthcare, food security and small business support.

The agreements were signed during a visit by IFC Vice President for Africa Ethiopis Tafara and alongside a sustainable finance forum co-hosted with the Central Bank of Egypt.

The largest project is a $150 million investment with Banque Misr to expand green finance. The funding will support energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport and green buildings. It will also increase lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, with 20% of MSME financing allocated to women-owned businesses.

IFC also launched an advisory partnership with the Export Development Bank of Egypt under the Egypt30by30 program. The initiative will strengthen climate reporting, data governance and tracking of green transactions.

In financial services, IFC is investing $30 million in GlobalCorp Group through a dual-currency structure to expand leasing and factoring for MSMEs. The deal marks IFC’s first local-currency securitization in Egypt and the first development finance institution investment in a leasing securitization in the country.

In healthcare, IFC will invest $15 million in GMED Holding to expand medical equipment production and training across Egypt and East Africa.

A further $13 million investment in Breadfast will support logistics expansion and distribution infrastructure aimed at strengthening food supply chains and SME access to retail markets.

Since starting operations in Egypt, IFC has invested and mobilized nearly $10 billion and maintains an advisory portfolio of $27 million.

Key Takeaways

Egypt has positioned sustainable finance and private sector growth at the center of its economic strategy. The Central Bank of Egypt introduced Sustainable Finance Guiding Principles in 2021 and binding regulations in 2022. In 2025, it implemented Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism reporting requirements to align exporters with European standards. Climate finance is becoming a core pillar of bank lending as global investors shift capital toward low-carbon assets. Egypt has also issued sovereign green bonds and expanded renewable energy capacity, including large solar projects such as Benban. The IFC package signals continued multilateral support as Egypt manages currency pressure, high inflation and debt servicing costs. By targeting green lending, healthcare capacity and SME financing, the projects aim to protect growth sectors while building resilience. For international investors, structured finance tools such as local-currency securitization reduce currency risk and deepen capital markets. If implementation holds, the projects could support job creation and strengthen Egypt’s position as a regional hub for climate and private sector finance.

Finance