The African Development Bank (AfDB) has extended a financial package of $148 million to the Commercial International Bank (CIB) to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and trade.
The AfDB outlined that this package consists of a $10 million line of credit with a 10-year tenor, a $90 million subordinated loan with a 10-year tenor, a $32 million trade finance line of credit with a 3.5-year tenor, and a $16 million trade finance line of credit from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) with a 3.5-year tenor.
Given the challenging economic environment in Egypt marked by a shortage of foreign currency due to various factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts, this financial support is aimed at helping CIB meet the foreign currency requirements of its clients across diverse sectors of the Egyptian economy.
The AfDB emphasized that this package will provide CIB with long-term resources for lending to businesses, fortifying CIB’s capital position, and enabling the bank to address the trade finance needs of its clients. The primary beneficiaries are expected to be small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporations in key sectors of the Egyptian economy.
Anticipating a positive impact, the AfDB expects this funding to play a vital role in mobilizing significant resources for crucial economic sectors in Egypt, fostering productive capacity, and stimulating growth. The overall goal is to enhance economic output, boost competitiveness, generate fiscal and export revenues, and create employment opportunities, particularly for women.
