The high-level forum, titled Financing for a Sustainable Future, convened central bank governors, ministers, ambassadors, and private-sector leaders to examine how to mobilize private capital, manage climate risk, and build more resilient financial systems across the continent.
IFC highlights growing Egypt portfolio
Ethiopis Tafara, Vice President for Africa at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), stated that the institution has invested and mobilized nearly $10 billion in Egypt over the past five decades, with an increasing share directed toward climate finance and financial sector development.
Tafara said IFC’s financial sector portfolio in Egypt has expanded rapidly, growing from about $200 million to $1.5 billion in just three years.
Speaking at the event, Tafara thanked CBE governor Hassan Abdalla for convening the meeting “at a time when leadership, strategic clarity and collective action are critical.”
He also congratulated Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid Saleh on his recent appointment, while acknowledging the presence of Nigeria’s central bank governor and Germany’s ambassador, stressing the importance of international partnerships in advancing sustainable finance.
“Transformative finance is never built in isolation. It is built on trust and on partners willing to take a long-term view, with returns that are not only financial, but national,” Tafara said.
Tafara noted that IFC began operating in Egypt nearly five decades ago, when the country faced familiar development challenges related to growth, job creation, and access to finance.
Since then, the IFC's $10 billion investment has spanned multiple sectors, including climate finance, manufacturing, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, renewable energy, and fintech, with 115 staff currently implementing a comprehensive country strategy.
“But the numbers alone do not tell the story,” Tafara said. “Egypt has built institutions, deepened markets, unlocked investment and broadened access to finance.”
Climate finance 'an economic imperative'
Tafara stressed that climate shocks across Africa, from droughts to floods, are disrupting infrastructure and straining public finances, warning that resilience financing is no longer optional.
“Resilience financing is not a niche agenda but an economic imperative,” he said. “It protects communities, reduces risk, sustains competitiveness and, critically, creates jobs.”
Under Egypt’s 30 by 30 programme, implemented in cooperation with the CBE and development partners, IFC has supported the country’s first private-sector green and sustainability bond issuances.
The initiative has delivered 11 engagements aimed at mobilizing $700 million in investments, including $470 million in climate finance. Participating banks have reduced emissions by more than 68,000 tonnes of CO₂, while over 1,160 professionals have received climate finance training.
Tafara said the programme is expected to expand to Nigeria as part of a broader effort to scale sustainable finance across Africa.
Germany backs Egypt’s sustainable finance push
Germany remains committed to supporting Egypt’s sustainable finance agenda and climate resilience efforts, Jürgen Schulz, Germany’s ambassador to Egypt, said.
Schulz thanked Abdalla for convening the event “at a time when leadership, strategic clarity and collective action are most needed,” and congratulated Investment Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh on his appointment.
He echoed warnings that climate shocks are increasing fiscal pressures across Africa, stressing that resilience finance protects communities, reduces risk, and supports growth.
Nigeria calls for deeper African cooperation
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, called for stronger African collaboration to build climate-aware financial systems, describing Egypt’s 30 by 30 programme as a model for the continent.
“The collaborative ambition behind this initiative reflects a shared continental vision, that Africa’s future must be resilient, climate-aware and financially sustainable,” Cardoso said.
He said Africa faces the dual challenge of accelerating growth and job creation while decarbonizing and strengthening resilience.
“These imperatives may appear contradictory,” he said, “but resilience is never accidental. It is the product of difficult, disciplined policy choices.”
Cardoso outlined Nigeria’s recent reforms to address inflation, foreign exchange pressures, and weakened investor confidence. He added that the experience underscored a central lesson: “Resilience begins with credibility.”
“The truth is simple: climate risk is financial risk,” he added, stressing that Africa, while contributing least to global emissions, bears some of the highest climate-related costs.
Egypt: Regulatory groundwork already in place
Egypt’s newly-appointed Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Mohamed Farid Saleh, stated that the government will build on years of financial sector reforms to scale up sustainable finance and integrate climate action across the economy.
“We have undertaken incremental reforms over several years, and today we are seeing significant strides, particularly in sustainable finance and bond issuances,” Saleh said.
He highlighted executive regulations under the Capital Market Law that introduced clear taxonomies for green, sustainability, transition, and gender bonds, enabling landmark issuances by Egyptian banks.
“Unless you have clear and unified frameworks governing these instruments, you cannot effectively mobilize finance,” he said.
Saleh also pointed to new disclosure requirements decreeing that large companies and non-bank financial institutions report carbon footprints and offset emissions through carbon credits traded on regulated markets. “What is not measured cannot be managed,” he said.
Discussions are underway with the Ministry of Finance to treat carbon offset purchases as tax-deductible corporate social responsibility expenses, he added. In parallel, Egypt’s voluntary carbon market has already registered more than 160,000 carbon credits.
“All the groundwork has been laid,” Saleh said. “Now it is time to see these efforts flourish.”
CBE: Climate change is a financial risk
On his side, Abdalla stated that climate change has evolved from an environmental concern into a direct financial risk affecting economic and financial stability.
“Our objective is to transition the banking sector towards a more sustainable future while safeguarding long-term financial stability,” Abdalla said.
He highlighted the central bank’s issuance of Sustainable Finance Guiding Principles since 2020 and the role of programmes led by the IFC and the World Bank in sharing international best practices and technical expertise aligned with national priorities.
Abdalla said the forum provided an important platform for dialogue on global capital flows, sustainable investment trends, and the challenges facing financial systems in a rapidly changing global environment.
He concluded by thanking international partners and participants, expressing hope that the discussions would translate into practical outcomes supporting sustainable growth in Egypt and across Africa.
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