Egyptian financial institutions AMAN Holding, Bokra and Erada Finance have joined Scale It Forward, a new initiative designed to accelerate the adoption of venture debt as an alternative financing tool for high-growth companies in Egypt.
The three institutions signed framework agreements with programme implementer enpact during a launch event in Cairo, becoming the initiative’s first financial institution partners. The collaboration will see them explore and pilot venture debt products tailored to scaleups seeking growth capital without giving up additional equity.
Expanding Financing Options for Egyptian Scaleups
Scale It Forward was co-developed by GIZ Egypt and enpact to help address the financing gap between traditional bank lending and equity investment.
The programme aims to support 30 Egyptian scaleups and five financial institutions during 2026. Participating scaleups will receive financial and operational readiness support, while financial institutions will receive technical assistance to develop and deploy venture debt products.
Under the pilot structure, participating financial institutions will select companies from a curated pipeline and provide venture debt financing starting from the equivalent of €5,000 per scaleup. Each selected company will also receive €5,000 in non-repayable financial support, alongside capacity-building assistance aimed at strengthening financial models, governance and investment readiness.
Building Egypt’s Venture Debt Market
The initiative comes as Egypt’s startup ecosystem continues to mature and growth-stage companies increasingly look beyond traditional equity rounds for capital.
Venture debt can provide startups and scaleups with additional funding while allowing founders and existing shareholders to limit equity dilution. Scale It Forward is designed to help financial institutions test such instruments in a structured environment while creating a pipeline of companies better prepared to take on debt financing.
AMAN Holding, Bokra and Erada Finance will initially work with selected scaleups to identify potential matches for venture debt pilots, with the scaleup selection process currently underway.
The programme runs from January to December 2026, with scaleup onboarding and capital mobilisation scheduled for the final months of the year.
Scale It Forward is co-developed and implemented by GIZ Egypt and enpact under Invest for Jobs – the Special Initiative “Decent Work for a Just Transition”, on behalf of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
