The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has committed a $40 million loan to support sugar beet cultivation in Egypt, strengthening the country's sugar sector and broader bioenergy-linked agricultural economy.
The financing will support cultivation across 5,713 hectares as Egypt works to reduce sugar imports and move towards self-sufficiency in domestic production. Egypt currently produces around 80% of its sugar requirements and is expected to achieve full self-sufficiency by 2026, with projected production reaching 2.9 million tonnes, ahramonline reported.
The investment is linked to Nile Sugar, a Sawiris family-owned company established to build, operate and manage a sugar beet extraction and refining facility in Nubariyah, located about 50 kilometres from the Port of Alexandria. The plant has a production capacity of 192,800 tonnes.
The IFC said it has invested more than $10 billion in Egypt's private sector through over 300 projects across industries including energy, agribusiness, manufacturing, healthcare, tourism and financial markets.
Among its earlier investments, the IFC supported local sugar production through Delta Sugar and also financed projects such as the Benban solar park in Aswan, Egypt's first utility-scale battery storage system and the Damietta Container Terminal.
The organisation has additionally backed Wadi Group's growth in agribusiness and food production and supported financial inclusion initiatives through the ZAAT programme with Banque Misr.
According to Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptians Expatriates, and Governor at the World Bank Group, Badr Abdelatty, the partnership between Egypt and IFC is focused on increasing investment, creating jobs and strengthening private sector-led inclusive and sustainable growth.
Officials said the initiative is also aimed at attracting more private investment into sectors capable of creating employment opportunities for the nearly 1.3 million young Egyptians entering the workforce each year.
The IFC has also launched five projects to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), expand employment opportunities and improve climate resilience in Egypt and other African countries.
In addition, the corporation has committed $137.5 million alongside the European Investment Bank to two investment funds targeting Egypt's private sector and healthcare industry.
The World Bank Group continues to support Egypt under its $7 billion Country Partnership Framework and has increased development financing for the country to $1 billion to help manage the economic impact of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran while supporting ongoing economic reforms.