The private sector is leading the execution of major green initiatives such as sustainable transportation, waste recycling, transition to clean energy, sustainable cities, and water and agriculture adaptation measures; however, funding is vital for these projects to scale. To address financial challenges, The American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham Egypt) partnered with The U.S. Chamber of Commerce to host the “Egypt’s Green Growth Priorities: U.S. Financing Tools and Resources in Support of the Private Sector” webinar on September 27. The session provided financial tools from U.S. financing institutions for Egyptian companies working on green projects in many industries while…
Author: Nour Eltigani
Earlier in September, Egypt issued a statement warning against the trading of cryptocurrencies due to their decentralized nature. 2022 has been a turbulent year for cryptocurrencies, with popular token values falling to less than a third of their all-time highs. Still in its infancy, cryptocurrency is a digital currency that uses a decentralized system – cryptography – to verify and maintain records rather than a centralized authority. Cryptocurrency’s market capitalization reached just under $1 trillion in June, with projections that it may double by 2028. The White House released new regulations for regulating digital assets, including cryptocurrency, on September 16,…
Africa’s private sector has contributed to only 3% of the sums required to finance climate action while the states bear the rest of the cost, said Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt, citing data from the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA). During a special luncheon meeting hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham Egypt) on September 12, the climate champion noted the importance of meeting at least the $100 billion pledge during the Copenhagen conference to finance climate projects in developing countries. “We need to ensure that commitments and pledges will turn into implementable…
Egypt is expanding its mass transit network to reduce reliance on private cars and carbon emissions. As a result, Egypt saw billions of dollars in financing from international multilateral partners to support its green mobility transformation. UK Export Finance (UKEF) offered $1.9 billion in financing for the 100-kilometer-long Cairo monorail in January 2021. Egypt also received a $248 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in May to help fund the development of Alexandria’s first high-capacity metro network. Over the past two years, Egypt has secured $2.4 billion in assistance from international development partners to transition…
With the help of new internet of things (IoT) technologies and immersive technologies like augmented reality, 3D rendering, and computer vision, the furniture industry is finally having its online moment incorporating virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) showrooms and interior design plans. E-commerce boomed in the 1990s globally with more and more categories transitioning into the online space over the past two decades for its accessibility. Consumer trends began leaning towards digital platforms such as Amazon to meet their merchandising needs. There is a clear reflection of global consumer trends in the Middle East and North Africa region. According…
After months of talks, Egypt’s government and the International Monetary Fund are in the final stages of a new loan to alleviate the economic strains caused by the Russia-Ukraine War. However, no additional data has been released on how much Egypt may borrow nor the duration of the loan Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expected that Egypt might require a $15 billion package to meet its financial needs. But, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said in a TV interview on “Al Qahirah wa Al Nas” that the number was “totally inaccurate” and confirmed Egypt is asking for less. Egypt started talks…
By 2050, the number of air conditioners (ACs) in use will reach 4.5 billion, up from 1.2 billion in 2022 due to global warming, which accounts for a rise of 0.5-degree Celsius in global temperature by the end of the century. ACs eat up over 50% of the electricity consumed during the summer months in Egypt, making it a real environmental challenge, according to Alaa Olama, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) consultant and the head of the Egyptian District Cooling Code. Egypt has been looking for environmentally friendly city-wide cooling options to cool its cities and reduce its carbon footprint,…
For the first time in five months, Egypt’s foreign customers in Egyptian treasury bills increased to $8.2 billion by June 2022, according to the latest bulletin from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). This reflects a 4.2% increase over the previous month. The bulletin also indicated that Egypt’s external debt increased to $157.8 billion at the end of March 2022, up from approximately $23 billion in March 2021. Higher net disbursements of loans and facilities and a devaluation of most borrowing currencies against the US dollar caused the jump in debt, the CBE’s bulletin indicated. During the first nine months…
The price of Koshary has soared by almost 31% since the end of 2021 because of the rising prices of agricultural commodities. Koshary is a staple Egyptian street food made up of rice, pasta, orzo, chickpeas, lentils, onions, tomato paste, and garlic. Its traditionally low-cost ingredients make it widely affordable to the masses. The Russia-Ukraine war has strained global supply chains, putting more pressure on basic commodities. However, it is not the sole factor. Many countries, including China, are stockpiling food reserves to secure their food supply. This negatively impacted global supply chains as importing nations increased dependency on food-producing countries like…
When 31-year-old Ahmed Adnan scoured the ends of the internet to find an appropriate platform to rent an apartment in the city, the hunt was nothing but “humiliating,” he said. Adnan and his soon-to-be wife were apartment hunting for a place to be their future home in Maadi. They began searching online to gauge market prices and property supply, but to their surprise, the process was extremely tedious. “We looked at multiple online listings and faced multiple hurdles. Sometimes, the property location listed online was wrong, the website listings were outdated, the apartment pictures and description did not match what…