The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Egypt and enpact have launched Scale It Forward after AMAN Holding, Erada Finance and Bokra signed framework agreements to pilot venture debt for Egyptian scaleups.
The three financial institutions are the programme's first partners. They will have access to a curated pipeline of scaleups selected through an open call, and will choose which businesses take part in the pilot.
GIZ Egypt will provide the participating financial institutions with technical assistance to design and deploy venture debt products in a controlled pilot. Each will provide venture debt to its selected scaleups starting from the equivalent of €5,000 per business, matching €5,000 of non-repayable support from the programme.
Selected scaleups will also receive technical and financial support through the programme to strengthen their readiness for debt financing.
Rawan Bassam, Country Manager of enpact in Egypt, said the signing was the official launch of Scale It Forward. She framed venture debt as a way for Egyptian scaleups to "grow without sacrificing equity".
Sherif Younis, Head of Project Job Partnerships and SME Promotion in Egypt (JP-SME) at GIZ Egypt, said the partnerships were intended to expand scaleups' access to venture debt and to strengthen the capacity of Egyptian financial institutions to develop and deploy the instrument.
Scale It Forward is co-developed and implemented by GIZ Egypt and enpact under the patronage of Invest for Jobs, the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition", on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
enpact, a non-profit founded in 2013, is headquartered in Berlin and has a regional office in Egypt. GIZ has been working in Egypt since 1956.