The Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat witnessed the graduation of the first batch of the technical support program for the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA), which includes 8 startups in the field of energy, blue economy, manufacturing and circular economy, agriculture and land use, and waste management. This is in light of the partnership between Egypt and the UK to promote climate action by providing technical assistance and support to startups and environmentally friendly projects.
The first batch of projects and companies benefited from the technical assistance and capacity-building efforts made available by the CFA through qualified international and local cadres to promote technology concepts—finance, gender equality, social inclusion and climate change mitigation.
The CFA sets 4 criteria for selecting projects joining the technical support program in Egypt, which are mitigating climate change, reducing emissions through measurable results, the need for the project to be at least in the pre-feasibility studies stage, and seeking to obtain investments; taking into account the standards for equal opportunities between genders and social inclusion, as well as targeting the 7 main sectors in Egypt that are in line with the country’s vision and strategy—renewable energy, waste management, energy efficiency, waste-to-energy conversion, low-carbon construction, low-carbon manufacturing, and smart and green agriculture.
In her video speech, Al-Mashat stated that the efforts being implemented within the framework of the CFA are complementary to the international partnerships achieved throughout 2022 that set the Government of Egypt’s priorities to enhance national goals related to climate action pointing to the Nexus for Water, Food and Energy platform, the NWFE program, which is under the umbrella of the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050, aiming to accelerate the pace of mitigation and adaptation projects to stimulate the transition to a green economy.
H.E. added that during COP27, more than 30 partnership agreements, letters of intent and memorandums of understanding were signed, in order to implement the projects included in the NWFE program, in the fields of water, food, energy and transportation, in addition to a list of national green projects, explaining that the Ministry of International Cooperation is in continuous communication and full coordination with development partners to coordinate technical support projects and provide blended funds and private sector investments to implement agreed projects.
Al-Mashat also reviewed efforts to stimulate just financing through the launch of the "Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing", which promotes the idea of just climate financing and provides a definition of just financing through 12 main principles, working on expanding the scope of investments towards climate adaptation and mitigation projects, the effects of climate change, highlighting the importance of improving access to qualitative and quantitative climate finance.
H.E. also noted the launch of the global competition, ClimaTech Run, for technological startups in the field of climate action and digital artists, in which 15 startups from Africa and various countries of the world were qualified, contributing to reducing carbon emissions through their combined solutions.
At the end of her speech, Al-Mashat expressed her aspiration that the CFA would provide more support for green companies and projects, stressing that cooperation between Egypt, the United Kingdom and other development partners has taken many steps aimed at stimulating climate action.
Last October, Al-Mashat oversaw the launch of the CFA, through which the United Kingdom is working to enhance climate action in Egypt and 8 other countries through technical support of £10 million to stimulate low-carbon projects and contribute to the implementation of national climate goals. The CFA in Egypt stimulates and encourages climate finance by achieving communication and linkage between project owners and companies, as well as investors and financial institutions.