Supporting MSMEs Go Green: Central Bank of Egypt Shares its Experience with Zambia and Eswatini  

The Central Bank of Egypt hosted an AFI Joint Learning Program event for peers from Zambia and Eswatini, from October 20^th to 22^nd, 2024. The event focused on sharing experiences and insights on developing a regulatory system for green finance and help MSMEs in transitioning to more sustainable practices.

The visiting delegations, representing government institutions, regulatory entities, and the private sector, were led by the Ministry of Finance of Zambia and the Ministry of Finance of Eswatini, through its Center for Financial Inclusion. During their visit, the delegations attended several presentations delivered by Egypt’s Central Bank, Ministry of Finance, Financial Regulatory Authority and MSME Development Agency, as well as various Egyptian commercial banks.

Participants learned about Egypt’s sustainable finance ecosystem, green finance initiatives, and strategies to support the greening of MSMEs. Discussions also explored how to integrate environmental factors into financial decision-making processes, ways to create a sustainable finance and inclusive green finance ecosystem, and the vital role of national coordination mechanisms.

The event included site visits to the Credit Guarantee Company in Egypt, the Egyptian Credit Bureau (I-Score) and NilePreneurs – an Initiative funded by the Central Bank of Egypt and implemented by Nile University.

The peer learning activity forms part of an AFI In-Country Implementation project focused on the greening of MSMEs in Eswatini and Zambia.