EBRD, int’l partners to invest $125m in health sector in Egypt, Morocco

23 / 02 / 2020

By Marwa Nassar - -

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) joined hands with its international partners to invest a total of $ 125 million to improve health services in Egypt and Morocco in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3 on Good Health and Well-Being.

The funds will be extended under an Islamic finance structure, also known as a “Commodity Murabaha”, that EBRD is using for the first time.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) led the structuring of the “Commodity Murabaha” financing, which comprises $ 20 million from the EBRD, $ 25 million from the OPEC Fund for International Development, $ 18.75 million from the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation, and $ 61.25 million from the IFC itself and the IFC Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP).

The funds will be used for investments by the Al Batterjia Medical SAE group to develop one greenfield general hospital in Alexandria, in Egypt, and another in Zenata, Casablanca, in Morocco.

The project aims to improve the quality of hospital services in both Egypt and Morocco beyond the current standards.

In addition to raising the quality of available healthcare, the developers are also committed to delivering high standards of efficiency in the use of energy, water and construction materials.

The EBRD started operating in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region in 2012 and to date has invested more than €11 billion in 255 projects in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia.

About Murabaha financial system:

A Murabaha transaction is a multilateral sale arrangement whereby the financier – equivalent to the lender –purchases existing commodities from a supplier and immediately resells them to its client – equivalent to the borrower – on terms that provide for deferred payment.

The deferred payment is calculated as the original purchase price of the commodity plus a premium to include the financier’s profit margin.