The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) plans to launch a new fund aimed at supporting producers across various industries, with a particular focus on boosting the nation's industrial sector. The initiative comes as part of efforts to ensure that Egyptian banks continue to prioritise financing for productive enterprises, not just consumer projects. Kamal El-Wazir, Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport, revealed that coordination is already underway between the Ministry of Industry and the CBE to identify priority sectors that require financial support. The focus will be on helping businesses acquire essential machinery and equipment to enhance production capacity. El-Wazir also announced that the Ministry of Finance and the CBE are working together to ensure the availability of funds for the 15 per cent industrial financing initiative, which is designed to support manufacturers. Priority sectors for funding have been identified, based on recommendations from industrial chambers, and include pharmaceuticals, engineering, building materials, textiles, food production, and chemicals. A total of 7.776 billion Egyptian pounds in loans has been requested for these sectors. The announcement was made during the 12th meeting of the Industrial Development Ministerial Group, led by Deputy Prime Minister El-Wazir, which was attended by several ministers, heads of economic authorities, and industry leaders, including key representatives from the automotive sector in Egypt. Attribution: The Egyptian Cabinet
