The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently agreed to lend El Roda, an Egyptian producer and exporter of fruits and vegetables, an unspecified amount of funding to expand its packing facility and purchase additional grape varieties and cultivation machinery such as irrigation equipment. The company will also receive a grant to “support El Roda’s capital expenditure plan and enable it to reach new export markets.” This grant is the first to be disbursed in Egypt by the EU-funded Trade and Competitiveness Programme. This program was launched in 2017 with a budget of EUR 266 million (USD 284 million) to boost agricultural and manufacturing trade among Egypt, Jordan and the EU.
El Roda also is joining a pilot effort funded by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance to support internships for people between the ages of 15 and 24. The goal of this EBRD-implemented program is to support economic inclusion by focusing on youth unemployment and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) area. Known as the SEMED Youth Employment Programme, this project was launched in 2018 and has a budget of up to EUR 6 million (USD 6.9 million).
El Roda was founded in 1987 and reports total assets of EGP 10 million (USD 558,000) as of 2017. The firm has 230 employees as of 2018.
EBRD, which began operations in 1991, is headquartered in London. It is owned by 65 countries as well as the European Investment Bank and the EU. The organization provides loans, debt securities, equity investments and technical assistance to micro-, small and medium-sized businesses via commercial banks and microfinance institutions. During 2017, EBRD invested EUR 9.7 billion (USD 11 billion) in projects spanning 67 countries. As of December of that year, it reported total assets of EUR 56 billion (USD 66 billion).
By Michelle Fleming, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
EBRD press release on El Roda loan
https://www.ebrd.com/news/2018/ebrd-eu-and-italy-boosting-value-chains-and-youth-employment-in-egypt.html
EBRD press release on SEMED Youth Employment Program
https://www.ebrd.com/news/2018/ebrd-and-italy-to-support-youth-economic-inclusion-and-smes-in-semed.html
El Roda homepage
https://www.elroda.com
EBRD homepage
https://ebrd.com
EU Trade and Competitiveness Programme and related background
https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/efds-report_en.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD to Lend $5.7m to Banka per Biznes (BPB) for On-lending to SMEs in Kosovo
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-ebrd-to-lend-5-7m-to-banka-per-biznes-bpb-for-on-lending-to-smes-in-kosovo/
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