EGYPT – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Development Partners International (DPI), and CDC Group have jointly contributed US$250 million against a majority stake in the capital of Egyptian company Adwia Pharmaceuticals. The funding will be used to support the growth of the company.
The EBRD is committing US$75 million, DPI, a pan-African private equity firm, is committing US$75 million, and CDC Group, a development finance institution funded by the UK government, is commiting US$100 million.
Adwia Pharmaceuticals, an Egyptian manufacturer of generic drugs, and Celon Laboratories, an Indian oncology and critical-care product specialist. Adwia will benefit from Celon’s know-how in drug development, including for chronic and life-threatening health conditions.
This investment will also help Adwia Pharmaceuticals to expand and modernise its manufacturing assets, introduce products with higher added value and improve its health and safety standards, product quality and governance in Egypt and improve the availability and affordability of medicines.
Moreover, founding shareholders plan to increase their impact by further expanding the investment platform’s activities, according to the statement.
The founding shareholders plan to increase their impact by further expanding the investment platform’s activities. Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of the Bank’s operations there in 2012, the EBRD has invested over US$7.5 billion in 125 projects in the country.
Egypt was regarded as the largest country of operations in 2020 for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with a total investment of about €2.3 billion (US$2.73bn), 60 percent of which dedicated to the private sector.
Moreover, Egypt is currently the largest country of operations for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with total investments of about €6.8 billion (US$8.06bn) in 123 projects while the portfolio of ongoing projects is about €4.6 billion (US$5.45bn).
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development held its annual meetings last October, which were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the participation of the Minister of International Cooperation as Egypt’s governor at the bank, and during the meetings, the Bank’s Board of Governors adopted the 2021-2025 strategy.
The startegy seeks to increase the share of green financing to at least 50 percent of its total financing by 2025, in addition to strengthening the focus on the private sector by increasing its share in the bank’s investments to more than 75 percent.
Egypt won the silver and bronze awards as a part of EBRD’s Sustainability Awards that recognize achievements in five specific categories: sustainable energy, climate resilience, environmental and social best practice, environmental and social innovation, and gender and inclusion.
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