Egypt's biggest lender, the state-owned National Bank of Egypt (NBE) is negotiating a new funding from four European financiers under the recently-formed Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) for Egypt. NBE seeks a new tranche from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), European Union, and the French Development Agency (AFD) under the GEFF, a senior source in the Egyptian bank told Amwal Al Ghad on Sunday. The Egyptian bank has already secured a €30 million ($32.4 million) tranche from the four European institutions under the GEFF and seeks to have another which may be similar in value, the source added. The EBRD, EU, EIB, and AFD have launched a week earlier their new GEFF programme which includes providing soft loans worth €140 million for energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy investments by private companies through a group of participating banks. The programme is supported by an EU grant worth €23.8 million. The European Union Neighbourhood Investment Facility (EU NIF) is providing the funds for incentives to complete investments, while the comprehensive technical-assistance package is jointly funded by EU NIF and EBRD's Shareholder Special Fund. The National Bank of Kuwait-Egypt (NBK) and Qatar National Bank (QNB) were the first to participate in the GEFF with the aim of achieving energy security. The loans are combined with technical support to develop projects and win incentives for the successful completion of investments, resulting in producing products aimed at promoting energy efficient and renewable energy technology, as well as raising awareness, reducing operating costs, and improving competitiveness. GEFF is the latest in a series of similar programmes led by EBRD, rolled out so far in 24 countries, in cooperation with 120 local financial partners.
