IFC officials, Head of Suez Canal Bank Akef El Maghraby while signing the deal.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of the 2025 Africa Financial Industry Summit held in Casablanca, where the IFC unveiled a series of partnerships aimed at expanding access to finance and boosting employment.
In Egypt, the IFC will provide a $50 million financing package to the Suez Canal Bank to enhance lending to small businesses, particularly in underserved areas. A quarter of the funding will be directed toward women-owned enterprises, in line with efforts to close the gender financing gap and promote inclusive economic participation.
The IFC also signed a $10 million risk-sharing agreement with Attijariwafa Bank Egypt to expand financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The facility will prioritize women-led businesses and SMEs operating in marginalized communities.
The initiative is supported by the PROSPECTS Partnership, which focuses on strengthening host and forcibly displaced populations.
The new investments align with Egypt’s broader strategy to empower the private sector and foster job creation, especially in high-impact segments of the economy.
The IFC co-hosted the two-day summit in partnership with Jeune Afrique Media Group and the Kingdom of Morocco.
The summit featured discussions among African central bank governors, regulators, financial institutions, and fintech innovators on how the continent can best leverage its own resources and attract more foreign investment to shape its financial future, drive job creation, and promote sustainable economic growth.
On the sidelines of the summit, the IFC announced partnerships with several financial institutions to channel funding and support to businesses in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Morocco, helping them expand and access new markets.
“Combining Africa’s domestic financial resources with strategic international capital is a powerful foundation for growth,” IFC Vice President for Africa Ethiopis Tafara stated.
“Entrepreneurs across Africa are building businesses that can compete globally, and with the right support, they can create the jobs and opportunities the continent needs. These projects underscore the strength of partnerships and the vital role of gatherings like AFIS, which unite like-minded organizations to achieve development and positive impact,” he added.
Launched in 2021, the Africa Financial Industry Summit aims to foster shared understanding between public authorities and private sector leaders on the trends and risks shaping the continent’s financial industry.
Through open dialogue and collaboration, the summit helps identify growth opportunities, whether through regulatory reforms or market-driven initiatives.
This year’s summit brought together more than 1,250 senior financial industry leaders from across Africa, including those managing the continent’s savings and investment flows, to mobilize greater funding for businesses and projects that create jobs.
Over the past two decades, the IFC has partnered with more than 300 financial institutions across 40 African countries, helping to strengthen banking systems, expand access to finance, and mobilize private capital.
These collaborations have laid the groundwork for opportunity, driving enterprise growth, job creation, and the next generation of economic expansion across the continent.
IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.
In fiscal year 2025, it committed a record $71.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging private sector solutions and mobilizing private capital to end poverty and promote a livable planet.
IFC is the Egyptian government's adviser for the implementation of the country’s initial public offering (IPO) programme, under which 11 airports across Egypt are being prepared as investment opportunities for the private sector.
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