Scale It Forward is a strategic financing initiative launched by GIZ Egypt and enpact to bridge the financing gap between financial institutions and high-growth, innovative scaleups. The programme introduces Venture Debt as a practical, non-dilutive financing solution within Egypt’s investment ecosystem, aiming to build a more balanced capital mix where equity finances risk and debt finances scale. By addressing capital supply, demand readiness, and ecosystem awareness, the initiative supports the responsible and sustainable deployment of Venture Debt instruments.
Programme Objectives
• Innovate and De-risk Portfolios: Enable financial institutions to support high-growth scaleups through non-dilutive financing while strengthening investee readiness before capital deployment.
• Scale Without Dilution: Provide scaleups with access to Venture Debt to finance growth while preserving equity and avoiding the rigid collateral requirements of traditional bank lending.
• Strengthen Debt Readiness: Prepare participating scaleups for Venture Debt and future institutional capital through expert guidance on financial modelling, governance, compliance, and cash-flow management.
• Promote Market Leadership: Position participating financial institutions as pioneers in Egypt’s investment landscape by activating Venture Debt products that set a new standard for growth-oriented financing.
Support for Financial Institutions
• Target Participants: The programme is open to five Egypt-based institutions, including Venture Capital firms, Private Equity funds, microfinance institutions, non-bank financial institutions, specialised debt funds, and digital SME lenders.
• Curated Pipeline: Participants gain access to a vetted pipeline of 30 growth-stage innovative companies across high-demand sectors such as FinTech, AgriTech, and HealthTech, reducing sourcing time and effort.
• Capacity Support: Institutions receive specialised support through GIZ Egypt to help activate and deploy Venture Debt products.
• De-risked Deployment: The programme facilitates a structured and de-risked deployment strategy with flexible debt tickets. Partner institutions are expected to mobilise private capital, with Venture Debt tickets starting from EUR 30,000 for selected scaleups.
• Market Visibility: Participating institutions gain visibility as early movers and enablers in Egypt’s emerging Venture Debt ecosystem.
Support for Scaleups
• Target Participants: The programme aims to support 30 innovative, high-potential scaleups in Egypt that have moved beyond the startup phase and need financing to extend their runway and fund revenue-generating activities.
• Non-Repayable Funding: Each selected scaleup receives EUR 5,000 in non-repayable financial support.
• Readiness Training: A targeted readiness track provides capacity support to strengthen financial models, governance, compliance, and cash-flow visibility, preparing founders to access Venture Debt.
• Benefits for Founders: The programme enables founders to scale while preserving equity and helps de-risk capital deployment for lenders through improved transparency, financial discipline, and repayment readiness.
Ecosystem Impact
• Addressing the Financing Gap: Venture Debt is positioned as a critical financial tool to close the “missing middle” financing gap between early-stage equity and traditional bank lending.
• Overcoming Barriers: The initiative addresses structural barriers that have limited the adoption of Venture Debt in Egypt through targeted readiness support for scaleups and de-risking mechanisms for financial institutions.
• Fostering a Balanced Ecosystem: Scale It Forward contributes to a broader effort to build a more balanced financing ecosystem that combines equity and debt instruments to support business growth.
Scale It Forward is co-developed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Egypt and enpact, under the patronage of Invest for Jobs, the Special Initiative “Decent Work for a Just Transition,” on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Interested institutions and entrepreneurs can find further information and application details through the official Scale It Forward website.