The International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced a financing package worth $30 million for Pasabahce Egypt for Glass Manufacturing to help the firm boost exports, introduce cleaner production practices, and generate jobs.
The package is meant to help the company be more resilient in the face of the repercussions of the coronavirus. The pandemic has disrupted global supply chains and production and dampened consumer confidence and demand, according to the IFC.
IFC said that the support is expected to help the company upgrade its glassware production facility outside Cairo and introduce efficiencies to cut its natural gas and electricity consumption by more than half.
It will also allow Pasabahce Egypt to create about 330 new direct jobs in engineering, production, and quality control, and more than 1,500 indirect jobs, said IFC.
Pasabahce Egypt, a joint-stock company, is a subsidiary of the Sisecam Group and its factory mainly serves markets in the Middle East, Turkey, and the United States.
The financing package includes a long-term loan of up to $20 million and a shorter-term loan of $10 million.
“IFC’s support and financing will help us expand into the region with an upgraded production facility complemented with increased capacity and higher value-added production. It will also increase the availability of high-quality glass production in Egypt, while promoting cleaner, more efficient production practices,” said Ahmet Kırman, vice president and CEO of Sisecam Group.
“This project with our long-term partner Sisecam Group reflects IFC’s continued and deepening commitment to Egypt’s private sector as it navigates the COVID-19 pandemic. Manufacturing companies like Pasabahce Egypt that provide stable jobs are key to ensuring long-term, inclusive economic growth in Egypt,” said Walid Labadi, IFC’s country manager for Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.
IFC has been increasing its support to Egypt’s manufacturing sector, with the aim of improving efficiencies, supporting innovations, and replenishing working capital.
IFC has invested about $340 million in the sector in the past years.
Over the past five years, manufacturing has accounted for over half of Egypt’s exports and about 17 percent of its GDP. It is the country’s second largest employer after the services sector.
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