Banque Misr has signed a USD 100 mn financing agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) for onlending to MSMEs, Banque Misr and JICA said in separate statements (here and here). The loan will improve access to finance for small firms, especially those owned by women. The statements didn’t specify how much JICA and SMBC are individually providing or quantify an earmark for women-led businesses.

This is the first financing to be agreed under JICA and SMBC’s sustainable finance framework, a set of guidelines launched last month that aims to ensure that finance produces socially and environmentally beneficial outcomes.

JICA’s commitments to Egypt now stand at almost USD 3 bn: Most recently, the agency inked a USD 240 mn loan in February to support public finances through covid and fund green projects. JICA is also committing funds to the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum, upgrades to the Cairo metro, and is on board to finance four new electricity control centers and install almost 1 mn smart meters, among other things.