Egypt is betting on the Green Sustainable Industries (GSI) program to green its industrial base. The flagship initiative by the Environment Ministry aims to help factories cut emissions, boost resource efficiency, and meet rising global climate standards — particularly in export-heavy sectors. As international regulations tighten and the energy transition accelerates, Egypt is positioning the GSI program at the center of its push to transform the country’s industrial footprint into a cleaner, more competitive model.

Inside Egypt’s flagship green industry program: The GSI program is a five-year, EUR 271 mn initiative managed by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), and is set to contribute to investments worth a total of some EUR 500 mn. It offers concessional loans and grants to public and private industrial firms nationwide, supporting pollution abatement, decarbonization, resource and energy efficiency, renewable energy adoption, and circular economy transitions. It also offers technical assistance “aimed at providing project management support.”

Not just for polluters: The program’s target base expands beyond polluting factories to include companies that are already environmentally compliant but looking to take further steps toward sustainability — a shift Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad described as reflecting a “changing view of the relationship between industry and the environment.”

Who’s funding the initiative? The financing package includes a EUR 135 mn loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), a EUR 30 mn grant from the EU via EIB Global, and additional co-financing from development partners such as the French Development Agency. Local banks are set to on-lend to eligible projects.

Focus on modern tech for cleaner industry: GSI targets projects that deploy green tech in industrial settings — such as advanced wastewater treatment, emissions-control systems, plastic and waste recycling, solar and biogas installations, energy-efficiency retrofits, and hydrogen-based clean energy. The initiative also supports projects aimed at carbon footprint reduction and decarbonization. It also aims to help exporters align with the EU’s incoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), particularly in the fertilizer, cement, iron, and aluminum industries.

Broader institutional support is also in the pipeline: The GSI program will also provide technical support and capacity-building for government bodies and the banking sector, said Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency head Ali Abo Sena. The goal is to help financial institutions develop their own green industry financing mechanisms under the program’s umbrella and empower public entities to more effectively oversee green transformation in the industrial sector.

GSI was officially launched by the Environment Ministry in December during the closing ceremony for the third phase of the Egyptian Pollution Abatement Program (EPAP). The ministry said the program will extend to both large industrial players and SMEs.

New EUR 21 mn grant strengthens GSI: The EIB and Egypt signed a EUR 21 mn investment grant agreement last week to bolster the GSI program — with EUR 20 mn earmarked for industrial greening initiatives and EUR 1 mn will go to the “digitilzation of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency to enhance its environmental monitoring, enforcement and transparency,” according to a press release from the lender.

Why it matters: The program plays into Egypt’s broader vision to have 50% of publicinvestments qualified as green this fiscal year. By helping industrial producers adopt sustainable practices and align with international environmental standards, GSI is expected to enhance export competitiveness, particularly in the face of stricter European regulations.

EU support for GSI builds on long-standing cooperation: Fouad previously said that this partnership with the EU — played a key role in building Egypt’s environmental management capacity over the past two decades — now extends to “low-budget solutions that support factories in taking bigger steps toward environmental compliance,” citing the GSI program as a continuation of that work. She pointed to earlier EU-backed efforts like the Industrial Pollution Control Program as precursors to GSI’s broader scope and cleaner production goals.

EPAP legacy — now supercharged: The GSI program builds on the legacy of EPAP, which since the 1990s has successfully provided EUR 300 mn in funding, facilitating projects worth EUR 550 mn in total investments. While EPAP, which expired in late 2024, provided critical support for pollution control and compliance, GSI expands the mission to encompass climate action, energy transition, and long-term green competitiveness.

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