International Finance Corporation Channels $20M Towards Egyptian SMEs

Venture capital and private equity play a crucial role in supplying funding to markets where capital is scarce, uplifting SMEs and helping them build dynamic and successful businesses. The International Finance Corporation (IFC)  is looking to fill this gap in a number of emerging markets across Africa, including Egypt. The World Bank body is set to inject $20 million worth of investments into Egypt-based Ezdehar, a private equity fund manager with more than $250 million under management. The money will be distributed to SMEs through the Ezdehar Mid-Cap Fund II (EMF II).

This latest investment will support SMEs in the Egyptian market by providing access to financing and tools to recover from the pandemic and scale their businesses. The fund is set to also invest in a number of high-growth sectors including consumer and retail, business services, education, healthcare, and manufacturing. Aside from financing, the fund will also offer operational and management support to help them develop into market-leading enterprises. 

“With this fund, Ezdehar was able to significantly expand its investor base to include a unique set of reputable regional and global institutions. This fund is setting Ezdehar as the preferred partner for deploying development capital to build homegrown private sector champions in Egypt,” commented Emad Barsoum, Ezdehar’s founder and managing director.

The fund saw support from numerous international investors including the likes of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries; CDC Group PLC; the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the European Investment Bank; and FMO, the Entrepreneurial Development Bank.

IFC’s investment in Ezdehar is its latest effort in promoting sustainable entrepreneurship in Egypt and offering support to struggling businesses impacted by the pandemic. Over the last two years, IFC has invested more than $716 million in Egypt.