Egypt

Without the waters of the Nile, Egypt would die of thirst. People, agriculture and the economy depend almost exclusively on the Nile's water. Population growth, climate change, increasing demands from neighbouring countries, but also inefficient use and pollution are making this precious resource increasingly scarce.

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), KfW has been supporting the modernisation of Egypt's water sector since the 1960s. On the basis of integrated water resource management that considers social, economic and ecological interests, KfW contributes to the balanced management of water resources and ensures their sustainability. This includes rehabilitating obsolete drinking water networks and expanding wastewater disposal and treatment, as well as increasing the efficiency of water distribution and agricultural irrigation.

A major contribution to the protection of water resources is made by the commitment in the waste sector. A large proportion of waste is disposed of in a disorderly manner and without protective measures. Negative impacts include water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from waste incineration, which have an impact on the environment and health.

On behalf of the BMZ, KfW is supporting the Egyptian Government in reforming the sector through appropriate financing. National framework conditions and the necessary infrastructure in selected regions are being expanded and a new waste management system is being established.

Project information Assiut (PDF, 116 KB, non-accessible)

Energy is one of the key sectors for economic growth and the promotion of employment. The government was able to overcome the energy crisis and its frequent power outages prevalent a few years ago by making significant efforts in the area of investments. At the same time, the Egyptian government set the objective of generating 20% of power from renewable energy sources by 2020 and 35% by 2035, particularly because Egypt has outstanding local conditions and continues to have significant expansion potential for wind and solar power. German Development Cooperation has been successfully supporting Egypt for years in this respect as it expands renewable energies and now focuses on expanding energy efficiency and digital network solutions. KfW’s intent during the planning, financing and implementation of projects in the energy sector is to realise innovative and sustainable project solutions in the context of significantly increasing electricity rates and economic growth while also taking climate and environmental aspects into account at the same time.

Approximately 850,000 young people enter Egypt’s labour market every year, 500,000 of whom only find informal work. Despite the surplus of vocational school graduates and academics, businesses express concern over the lack of well-trained specialists they need to increase their productivity and to grow. This was the backdrop against which the German-Egyptian vocational training initiative was started, to which Financial Cooperation is contributing. This initiative is setting up centres of excellence to improve the quality of professional training by increasing technical and staff capacities.

German Financial Cooperation’s educational support in Egypt is already a long-standing tradition. On behalf of the German Federal Government, KfW has been supporting construction and furnishing of primary schools for 20 years. KfW has invested EUR 120 million to date to build or upgrade around 900 modern and child-friendly primary schools.

Entrepreneurs in Egypt’s informal sector contribute a substantial amount to economic performance. However, their development potential is hampered by limited access to financing. So, KfW is working with Egyptian financial institutions to offer sufficient microfinancing to microbusinesses and small enterprises with the intent of improving these Egyptian companies’ access to appropriate financial services.