$7 Billion Loan To Boost Private Sector & Increase Climate Resilience
Cairo Scene spoke to environmental design leader Sarah El Battouty on the positive implications of the World Bank Loan which was approved last March.
In March the World Bank approved a loan of $7bn to empower the private sector in Egypt, create job opportunities and enhance its efforts to combat climate change. But what exactly does that mean for sustainable business in Egypt? And how does this move differ from previous efforts?
We caught up with Sarah El Battouty, CEO and founder of the first environmental design consultancy in Egypt and an advisor on climate to the Egyptian President, to shed light on the initiative.
Our conversation was part of Cairo Scene’s new upcoming podcast series, #GreenScene, in which we interview leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs developing solutions to climate change in Egypt and the wider region.
“The loan is available to a very broad spectrum of businesses: renewable energy, conservation, waste management, green building, product design and technology,” El Battouty tells #GreenScene. “A dedicated loan for the green movement and the startups that are part of the community is incredibly necessary, and encourages entrepreneurs not to be disenfranchised by the global economic challenges of today. It’s a breakthrough because it’s specifying the private sector that is dealing with the developmental challenge of climate change, but it’s incredibly broad: every single sector that you can think of, from food, agriculture, construction, management, HR to art and creativity, comes under this umbrella today.”
As Marina Wes, World Bank Country Director for Egypt, recently explained in an official statement on the new partnership, it “puts the Egyptian people at the centre of its strategy, with a heavy focus on job creation by improving the business environment and levelling the playing field.”
Stay tuned for the full conversation with El Battouty and more insightful interviews with the region’s eco-leaders on #GreenScene, our new environmental podcast hosted by Lana Mawlood, coming soon!
