ArabFinance: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide the National Bank of Kuwait Egypt (NBK Egypt) (NBKE) with a loan worth $25 million to boost the efficiency of renewable energy in Egypt, EBRD announced in a statement on its website.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the world’s largest climate fund, is co-financing the total loan with 15%, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) will support the loan with up to €2.56 million of EU funds as incentive payments for successfully implemented and verified projects, the bank added.

Moreover, the EU will provide a comprehensive technical assistance package valued at €6.2 million for all participating financial institutions and their clients and for policy dialogue.

This loan is being arranged under the EBRD’s Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF), which provides finance to private-sector businesses to bolster Egypt’s green economy transition.

The GCF has supported this transition in Egypt through six EBRD programmes to the tune of $830 million, catalysing more than $3.6 billion in total project value.

“The facility has a financing pool worth €150 million for energy-efficiency and renewable energy investments”, the statement said.

The funds will be granted to Egyptian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and households to finance investments to alleviate the impacts of climate change.

The bank also noted that applying new technologies is expected to promote the transition to an environmentally sustainable, low-carbon, and climate-resilient economy in Egypt.

It is worth noting that EBRD has invested €7.7 billion in Egypt through 132 projects to-date.