IFC allocates $30m to back Pasabahce Egypt move towards sustainability

22 / 02 / 2021

By Marwa Nassar - -

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, allocated a $30 million financing package for leading glassware manufacturer Pasabahce Egypt for Glass Manufacturing S.A.E. to help the company adopt sustainable production practices, like cutting energy consumption and creating jobs.

IFC’s support will help Pasabahce Egypt upgrade its glassware production facility outside Cairo, and introduce efficiencies to cut its natural gas and electricity consumption by more than half.

The funding is also expected to allow Pasabahce Egypt to create about 330 new direct jobs in engineering, production, and quality control, and more than 1,500 indirect jobs.

The IFC’s financing package includes a long-term loan of up to $20 million and a shorter-term loan of $10 million. IFC’s support comes at a critical time when the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global supply chains and production and dampened consumer confidence and demand.

IFC has been increasing its support to Egypt’s manufacturing sector, helping improve efficiencies, support innovations, and replenish working capital. IFC has invested about $340 million in the sector in the past several years. Over the past five years, manufacturing has accounted for over half of Egypt’s exports and about 17 percent of its GDP. It is the country’s second largest employer after the services sector.