Sustainable finance, from the lender's side. Cairo.
Capital follows proof.
Most good projects in Egypt are not short of money. They are short of a file a credit committee can approve. I write about what that file must contain, publish the method I use to read one, and advise a small number of companies, projects and lenders on building it.
The argument
A lender does not finance a project. It finances evidence about a project: that it is eligible, that its risks are managed, and that its numbers hold on a bad day.
Development finance credit lines, CBAM and the new disclosure rules have raised the standard of that evidence. Most borrowers meet it late, after the credit committee has asked.
Built early, the same evidence shortens approval, protects margin with EU buyers, and turns a green label into something that survives scrutiny.
"Most good projects go unfinanced because nobody built the proof."
Writing
Guides
Condition Precedent
Method
The Proof Note
A bankability review in the order a credit committee reads: eligibility, environmental and social risk, carbon data and the credit file. It ends in a note with the conditions to close, the documents that close them, and the standard behind each.
- Company bankability reviewExporters, factories, SMEs and mid-caps seeking green or DFI-backed finance, or selling to EU buyers.
- Project bankability reviewDevelopers, hotels, factories and building owners financing a green building, solar, or an equipment upgrade.
- Institution readiness reviewLeasing, microfinance, factoring, mortgage and consumer finance companies preparing for a DFI line or the regulator.
Advisory
By introduction, in a personal capacity.
Companies
Exporters and SMEs facing a lender's questionnaire or an EU buyer's request for emissions data.
Projects
Green buildings, solar plants and equipment upgrades, from design to the final tranche.
Non-bank lenders
ESMS, financed emissions and climate disclosure, ahead of a DFI line or the regulator.
Record
- IFC EDGE ExpertCertified by the International Finance Corporation
- The lender's sideEBRD and IFC credit lines, Cairo
- MSc Business AnalyticsGrade A, Universiti Sains Malaysia
- Condition PrecedentA newsletter in English and Arabic