Three Egyptian non-bank lenders have begun selecting the first group of scaleups for a pilot programme designed to introduce venture debt as a financing tool, filling a gap that has seen Egypt's venture debt market collapse in recent years, according to EnterpriseAM Egypt. Aman Holding, Bokra and Erada Finance signed on earlier this year to pilot the instrument under Scale It Forward, a programme developed by Germany's development agency GIZ and the non-profit enpact, with the selection of 30 scaleups under way this month.
Venture debt allows a revenue-generating company to borrow against future cash flow rather than sell equity, but the instrument has barely taken hold in Egypt. Venture debt funding fell to just $4 million in 2023, an 86 percent year-on-year drop, while the number of venture debt transactions fell 75 percent between 2022 and 2023, EnterpriseAM Egypt reported. Conventional bank lending, meanwhile, has struggled to serve scaleups that generate revenue but lack the collateral, consistent profitability or credit history that banks typically require.
That gap matters because scaleups sit in an awkward middle ground: too established for early-stage grants and angel cheques, but often not yet attractive enough, or unwilling to dilute founders' ownership, to raise a full equity round. EnterpriseAM Egypt reported that the structural mismatch between how Egyptian scaleups actually earn and spend money and what conventional lenders are set up to assess has been a persistent barrier to growth financing, independent of any single company's performance.
Under Scale It Forward, each selected scaleup is set to receive a minimum of €5,000 in venture debt from one of the three participating lenders, matched by a further €5,000 in non-repayable de-risking support funded through the programme, according to Wamda and Disrupt Africa. Scaleups also receive training in financial planning, governance, cash-flow management and preparing for debt financing. The three lenders signed on in August, after the programme had launched in January; scaleup selection is running through October, with the pilot concluding in December 2026, EnterpriseAM Egypt reported.
Rawan Bassam, enpact's Egypt country manager, said bringing together Aman, Erada Finance and Bokra marked "a significant step towards establishing venture debt as a practical and scalable financing solution," according to Disrupt Africa. Sherif Younis, head of GIZ Egypt's Job Partnerships and SME Promotion programme, said "securing these partnerships is a pivotal milestone" in the effort to support sustainable growth, Wamda reported.
Bokra's founder and chief executive, Ayman El Sawy, and Foundation Ventures managing partner Mazen Nadim were named among those involved in structuring the pilot, EnterpriseAM Egypt reported. The programme is targeting scaleups in fintech, agritech, healthtech, e-commerce, climate technology and digital services. EnterpriseAM Egypt reported that the three participating lenders had expanded their appetite beyond the pilot's original six-scaleup-per-institution model.
GIZ Egypt, the implementing arm of Germany's Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit and funded by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, is providing technical assistance on product design and deployment alongside enpact, Wamda reported.
The pilot sits alongside a wider government push to widen financing options for Egyptian startups. The Egypt Startup Charter, launched in February, set out a $1 billion unified financing initiative over five years, meant to mobilise government funding, guarantees and private co-investment, and targets supporting 5,000 startups and creating around 500,000 jobs over the same period, according to Wamda. Scale It Forward is a narrower, donor-backed test of whether debt — rather than equity alone — can become a routine part of that financing mix.
For scaleups that have outgrown early-stage grants but are not yet attractive to equity investors or conventional bank lenders, the pilot offers a smaller, lower-risk entry point into institutional debt without giving up equity. Its progress over the coming months, as 30 companies move through selection, training and eventually repayment, will help show whether Egyptian lenders are willing to extend venture debt on their own balance sheets once the programme's external support ends in December.
Frequently asked questions
What is venture debt, and why does Egypt need a pilot for it?
Venture debt lets revenue-generating companies borrow against future cash flow instead of selling equity. It has barely taken hold in Egypt: funding fell to $4 million in 2023, an 86 percent year-on-year drop, with transaction volumes down 75 percent between 2022 and 2023, according to EnterpriseAM Egypt. Scale It Forward is a pilot designed to test whether structured support can revive it.
Which lenders and organisations are running Scale It Forward?
The pilot is backed by Germany's development agency GIZ and enpact, with three Egyptian non-bank lenders, Aman Holding, Bokra and Erada Finance, signed on to provide the venture debt, according to Wamda and Disrupt Africa.
How much financing will selected scaleups receive?
Each selected scaleup is set to receive at least €5,000 in venture debt from a participating lender, matched by a further €5,000 in non-repayable de-risking support through the programme, plus training in financial planning, governance and cash-flow management, according to Wamda.
How does this fit into Egypt's wider startup-financing push?
It follows the Egypt Startup Charter, launched in February 2026, which includes a $1 billion unified financing initiative over five years combining government funding, guarantees and private co-investment, and targets 5,000 startups and around 500,000 jobs, according to Wamda.
