Crédit Agricole Egypt will distribute the EBRD loan to private sub-borrowers, including households and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) working in residential, agribusiness, industrial, commercial, and service sectors.

The statement explained that this loan aligns with the EBRD’s Green Economy Transition approach, as it increases financing for green projects and is the first of its kind in Egypt and the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region to have both a retail and a residential segment.

These funds will mainly support projects focused on green initiatives, energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewable energy, and resource efficiency, promoting high-performance technologies and services usage in climate mitigation and climate adaptation activities.

This will also contribute to Egypt's transition into a greener economy in alignment with Egypt's Vision 2030.

Additionally, the loan includes $3 million of concessional finance from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), 2.05 million euros from the EU in the form of incentive payments for successfully implemented and verified projects, and a 6.2 million euro technical assistance package from the EU for all participating financial institutions and their clients and policy dialogue.

According to the statement, Crédit Agricole Egypt is the fourth bank in Egypt to benefit from a loan under the GCF’s Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) Regional Egypt Framework.

A key aspect of Crédit Agricole Group's transition plan is supporting energy transition to accelerate the growth of renewable and low-carbon energy sources, while also phasing out the bank's involvement in financing carbon-based energy projects.

Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the bank started operations there in 2012, it has invested more than 12.2 billion euros in 183 projects in the country.

In 2023, Egypt led the EBRD investments in the SEMED region, as the lender committed 1.29 billion euros to 16 projects.

The EBRD's investment focus in Egypt spans the financial sector, agribusiness, manufacturing and services, and infrastructure projects, including power, municipal water and wastewater services, and improvements in transport services.

According to Visa’s SME Megatrends report released in July 2024, SMEs acquired 98 percent of the private sector landscape in Egypt, and their share in Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached 43 percent in FY2023/2024.

However, the report highlighted that they are still facing a financing gap of $46 billion.