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Arab Finance: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed two agreements to inject $137.5 million into the RMBV North Africa and Alta Semper investment funds, according to a press release.
Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat witnessed the signing during the visit of Gelsomina Vigliotti, Vice President of the EIB, to Cairo.
Through its development arm EIB Global, the EIB has committed $80 million to back investments in the third RMBV North Africa fund. This aims to accelerate private sector development and promote sustainability in Egypt.
Additionally, it is expected to allocate over $300 million in investments into private sector companies under a regional investment strategy covering North Africa.
The fund secures financing and provides value-added support to local companies in key sectors, offering new growth opportunities in Egypt and enhancing economic integration between Egypt and Europe.
In the same vein, the EIB, IFC, and the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) penned a joint agreement with Alta Semper II Fund.
Under the deal, the EIB will invest $37.5 million, while IFC will inject $20 million in the second Alta Semper fund, aimed at supporting the growth of pharmaceutical and healthcare companies across Africa.
The fund mainly targets North Africa, alongside Sub-Saharan Africa, to promote innovation, sustainability, and deeper trade relations between the EU and Africa. This investment is expected to mobilize around $150 million in the healthcare sector, particularly in North Africa.
Besides the private sector, Egypt has become a platform for cross-border financing whose impact extends to the wider region, Al-Mashat highlighted.
For her part, Vigliotti stated: “Given Egypt’s strategic importance in areas such as energy cooperation, migration, and shared economic interests, it is a key partner for the European Union and a central pillar of EIB Global’s strategy. In this context, private equity funds play a pivotal role in supporting the private sector and strengthening a ‘mutual benefit’ approach between the EU and its Egyptian private sector partners.”
Al-Mashat and Vigliotti penned two grant agreements at a combined value of EUR 2.7 million (EGP 150 million) to provide advisory services for the extension of Cairo Metro Line 1, as well as advisory services for the development of water treatment plants in Alexandria and Damietta.
During the period from 2020 to 2024, the EIB injected more than EUR 1 billion into 20 local and regional investment funds, benefiting a wide range of Egypt-based SMEs across healthcare, financial services, pharmaceuticals, retail, technology, and other sectors.
