Egypt is strengthening ties with an Africa-led infrastructure investment platform: The House yesterday signed off on two presidential decrees allowing Egypt to expand its relationship with Africa50, an infrastructure investment platform established by African governments and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The decrees will see Egypt join the platform’s project development and the project finance arms:

  • Project development focuses on increasing the number of bankable infrastructure projects. Operating under a venture capital model, it provides equity investments of USD 2-10 mn in early-stage projects in return for significant minority stakes.
  • Project finance follows a private equity model, investing larger amounts (more than USD 20 mn) in return for significant minority stakes. It focuses more on profitability and development impact.

The focus: Africa50 targets projects in the power, transport, IT, midstream gas sectors, and has recently broadened its remit to include fintech, health and education-focused projects.

Africa50 in Egypt: The platform has invested in Scatec’s 400-MW solar plant at the giant 1.5-GW Benban project.

ALSO- Stricter penalties for harassers:Amendments to the Penal Code (pdf) also got the greenlight, adding tougher penalties for harassment that takes place under certain circumstances. Harassment in the workplace and on transportation falls under the offenses that deserve more severe punishments: up to five years in prison in the case of physical, verbal, online or visual harassment, and up to seven years if the offender’s actions aim to take [redacted] advantage of the victim. The amendments also include new tougher penalties for extreme cases that fall under a specific list of conditions.

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