EDUCATION –

New British school in Alexandria: Egypt Education Platform (EEP) and Modon Developments will open the doors of a new British school in Alexandria at the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, under an agreement (pdf) the two companies signed last month. Construction of the Alexandria British Academy will start early next year in the Al Seyouf district. The school will accommodate more than 1.8k students, and will be the first in Alexandria to offer both the international primary curriculum and the British curriculum.

EEP: Is an education management firm that counts EFG Hermes and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt among its anchor investors. Formerly known as GEMS Education Egypt, it has a network of 18 schools and nurseries.

NON-BANK FINANCIAL SERVICES-

#1- Banque Misr, MaxAB partnering in MSME push: State-owned Banque Misr and e-commerce startup MaxAB inked an agreement to provide financing and digital banking solutions to small and micro enterprises in MaxAB’s retail network, according to a statement (pdf).

#2- Qardy to provide financial services to NOSCO clients: Online SME lending marketplace Qardy will offer its services to clients of the National Company for Transportation and Overseas Service Company (NOSCO) under an agreement signed with the trucking firm, according to a press release (pdf). The partnership will unlock an initial EGP 100 mn of funding for the firm’s clients, according to the statement. The companies didn’t disclose the specifics of the funding arrangements, saying only that Qardy will offer a “diversified set of financial products” allowing NOSCO’s customers to “optimize their cashflow cycles.”

#3- Mastercard has partnered with local fintech firm Egabi FSIto help companies across the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe offer digital buy-now-pay-later, microfinance, and SME finance products, it said in a press release last week.

DEBT-

#1- ODE shareholders okay loan for Gouna expansion: Orascom Development Egypt (ODE) shareholders have approved a USD 30 mn loan from parent company, Orascom Development, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf). The company said earlier this year that it was looking to borrow USD 30 mn to help finance the planned expansion of El Gouna. The loan carries a tenor of 10 years and an interest rate of 3.75%.

#2- Kandil Steel could secure USD 25 mn from the IFC: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) could lend USD 25 mn to flat steel manufacturer Kandil Steel, according to the lender’swebsite. The facility would allow the company to preserve employment and maintain its capacity utilization rates, “preventing reduction in output and preserving direct value-addition to the Egyptian economy.” The IFC will announce its final decision on the loan on 19 June.

BANKING-

Housing and Development Bank has launched new three-year high-yield CDs,with an annual interest rate of 20% or a monthly interest rate of 18.5%, according to its website. The minimum deposit is EGP 100k.

REMEMBER- A handful of state-owned and private-sector banks have introduced newhigh-yield certificates of deposit in the wake of the central bank’s decision in March to raise interest rates by another 200 basis points.

TRANSPORT-

Skoda will take over the maintenance of some of our train locomotives: Czech car manufacturer Skoda will renovate and maintain our Henschel and Adtranz locomotives for a 15-year period as well as help localize the production of spare parts under an agreement it is set to sign with the Madbouly government early next month, the Transport Ministry said in a statement.

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