The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is partnering with Egyptian pharmaceutical producer Rameda to support the company's strategy to "green" its operations and improve its production efficiencies in order to boost the company's productivity. In a Tuesday press statement the IFC said that through this partnership, it will help Rameda adopt solutions that reduce its carbon and water footprints and improve efficiencies in materials and resource usage. As a growth-focused enterprise that produces a wide range of pharmaceuticals, supplements, and other products at its three facilities in Cairo, Rameda is committed to finding and promoting solutions that enable the IFC to minimise its impact on the environment. Water and energy resources are scarce in Egypt; reducing their use will help Rameda lower costs while protecting the environment. "As Rameda grows in size, scale, and reach, so does our resolve in ensuring that the company's business practices and growth trajectory are sustainable and that it serves its patients in a manner that respects the environment, encourages social progress, and contributes to long-term economic sustainability," said Amr Morsy — Rameda's CEO. "Along with improving the physical and mental health of our customers, we want to do our part in ensuring a healthy planet earth. We view our latest partnership with IFC as another important milestone in the ongoing enhancement of our ESG framework, helping us to reduce our environmental footprint while achieving greater efficiencies and ultimately enabling us to continue to provide cost-effective drugs while remaining profitable." "Our partnership with Rameda is part of the IFC's strategy to support Africa's health sector and to help the continent's businesses reduce their environmental footprint," said Yasmine Al-Hini — IFC Country Officer for Egypt and Acting Country Manager for Egypt and Libya. "The upcoming UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) in Egypt offers an excellent opportunity for the country's businesses — including Rameda — to showcase the private sector's contribution to climate mitigation through resource efficiency." For her part, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said: "Partnerships with the private sector that support sustainable solutions and a green transformation are much needed to accelerate progress towards development and uphold the environmental, social, and governance principles." "As we look ahead to the COP 27, we are moving from commitments towards action and implementation," she added. "This transition requires multi-stakeholder engagement, including cooperation between government entities, multilateral development banks, businesses, and the private sector. This multi-stakeholder approach to climate action is necessary for enhancing mitigation efforts across Egypt, thus contributing to the global agenda." The partnership with Rameda is part of a larger IFC North Africa pharmaceutical project being implemented in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia that is designed to make the region's pharmaceutical sector more resource efficient. Since 2016, the IFC has invested and mobilised more than $1bn for climate projects. This includes $100m in financing for the first private sector green bond issued by the Commercial International Bank (CIB) in Egypt to fund climate-smart projects and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is in addition to a green loan to Humania — a regional healthcare provider — to develop green hospital buildings in Egypt. The Rameda project is supported by the government of the Netherlands.
