Egypt gets $6bn from World Bank to spur growth

Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

The World Bank Group will offer more than $6 billion over the next three years to support Egypt’s economic recovery amid its foreign currency crunch.

The Washington-headquartered group will allocate $3 billion for financial support to government programmes and the remaining $3 billion to the private sector, subject to board approval.

The announcement comes after Egypt signed an $8 billion expanded loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund and an $8 billion funding package from the European Union.

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Egypt will receive $1 billion by the end of June, supporting its budget and programmes on climate as well as SMEs, country director Stephane Guimbert told Reuters.

According to the World Bank, the funding falls under the country partnership framework with Egypt (2023-2027), signed last March.

The programme will focus on increasing private sector participation in the economy through the government’s asset monetisation programme. It will further support the most vulnerable through the state’s social protection projects.

The World Bank’s operational portfolio in Egypt is more than $8 billion, comprising $6 billion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, $1.9 billion from the International Finance Corporation and $500 million from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. 

Earlier this month, Egypt’s finance minister Mohamed Maait said that the expanded IMF loan facility will allow the country to receive more than $20 billion in additional funding from global financial institutions.

Moody’s upgraded Egypt’s outlook from negative to positive following the IMF’s expanded $8 billion funding.

Last month, the country also sealed a $35 billion deal with the UAE sovereign fund ADQ by selling development rights for Ras El-Hikma on the Mediterranean coast.