Photo: KuroNekoNiyah / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Egypt is seeking to turn finance and trade guarantees into a stronger bridge for its companies expanding across African markets.
Talks focus on finance and risk protection
Egyptian Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh held talks with Haitham El-Maayergi, an executive at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), and Ciro Aquino, SACE’s head for the Middle East and Africa, on strengthening export finance and trade-credit guarantee tools.
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The discussions took place during the Alamein Africa GO63 Forum on Saturday, 3 October, with representatives of Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, sovereign fund and Export Development Authority also present.
Farid said the priority was to cut the financial and commercial risks faced by Egyptian businesses entering overseas markets, while making it easier to finance projects. The government also wants companies linked directly to lenders able to provide solutions suited to their individual expansion plans.
Afreximbank role in African market access
The conversation with Cairo-based Afreximbank centred on Egypt Goes for Export, an initiative intended to connect Egyptian companies with financing and trading opportunities in African markets.
The approach reflects a wider push by Egypt to make greater use of the African Continental Free Trade Area and to position domestic manufacturers and service providers for continental growth. Earlier this year, Egypt’s investment authority said it was working with business groups to widen exports to Africa and improve companies’ competitiveness abroad.
For more context, read DGBN’s coverage of Egypt says Alamein Africa Forum will become biennial business platform.
For African businesses and workers, the significance is larger than a single meeting. Affordable trade finance, reliable payments and risk cover can determine whether firms can bid for contracts, ship goods and build supply chains beyond their home markets. Expanding those tools could support more African-to-African commerce rather than leaving companies dependent on markets outside the continent.
SACE discussions include green projects
Talks with SACE, Italy’s export credit agency, considered how export-credit and financing instruments could support Egyptian firms’ international expansion. The sides also discussed possible cooperation in renewable-energy and green-transition projects.
SACE already has an established financing presence in Egypt. In April 2025, it launched a framework agreement with ALEXBANK designed to guarantee up to €200 million in financing for eligible Egyptian small and medium-sized buyers sourcing from Italy. That arrangement was aimed at building commercial links and helping Italian firms deepen their African presence.
Saturday’s meeting did not announce a new funding figure, signed agreement or named beneficiaries. Instead, it set out a policy direction: use Afreximbank’s continental trade mandate and SACE’s risk-management tools to help Egyptian companies operate more confidently in African markets.
Why it matters
The test will be delivery. African integration requires more than lower tariffs; companies need working capital, credit insurance, logistics and predictable cross-border payment systems. If the discussions yield accessible products for small and medium-sized firms, they could help widen participation in continental trade beyond the largest conglomerates.
Related DGBN reporting includes Alamein Africa Forum opens in Egypt with 1,500 delegates.
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For Black communities across Africa and the diaspora, stronger intra-African business links can mean greater local production, employment and bargaining power in supply chains that have too often been shaped elsewhere.