The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest $100 million towards Egypt’s first private sector green bond. This investment will aid in the mobilization of funds for climate-smart initiatives, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and the country’s transition to a greener economy.
The bond, issued by Egypt’s Commercial International Bank (CIB), the country’s largest private bank, will help CIB expand lending to businesses interested in investing in environmentally friendly initiatives such as green buildings, renewable energy, and energy efficiency, all of which are still developing markets in Egypt.
The first issue is a significant step forward in the government’s, private sector’s, and IFC’s multi-year endeavour to expand Egypt’s capital market for green finance and meeting infrastructure funding shortages. Egypt is making progress towards achieving its 2030 development target, which is aligned with global environmental objectives. Egypt’s government issued its first sovereign green bond in 2020, which was five times oversubscribed.
IFC is one of the first issuers of green bonds, releasing its first in 2010 to assist in accelerating the market and unlock investment for private sector initiatives that support renewable energy and energy efficiency. Since the beginning of its green bond programme in 2010, IFC has issued $10.6 billion in 178 green bonds in 20 currencies. IFC has so far helped five financial institutions in Africa issue their first green bonds.
