The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is investing up to $10 million in a local Egyptian company to help it expand installation of digital prepaid and smart electricity meters.

The investment will support government energy reforms to improve accuracy in billing, give consumers more payment options and provide consumers with better information about their energy use in order.

Globaltronics SAE will also leverage the funding to manufacture electricity measurement solutions to support the Egyptian government plans to replace outdated meters with prepaid and smart digital meters as part of ongoing energy reforms.

Prepaid digital meters improve billing accuracy, offer more convenient payment options and help consumers to reduce energy consumption by tracking their energy usage in real-time.

Dr. Hany Assal, founder and chairman of Globaltronics said: “We are glad to have the IFC as a partner in Globaltronics. We look forward to investing and growing our business in Egypt and to continue expanding in the Middle East and Africa.”

As well as supporting manufacturing, the project is part of the World Bank Group’s strategy to help Egypt optimise its overall domestic electricity consumption, which in turn will help the government reduce subsidies to the energy sector.

Walid Labadi, IFC’s country manager for Egypt, Yemen and Libya, said: “Egypt’s electricity consumption has witnessed an increase in growth in recent years and is likely to accelerate further. This project is part of IFC’s strategy to support the government in its reforms of the sector and boost energy efficiency, while also helping a local company expand in the region and diversify its offering.”

Egypt is a priority country for IFC in the region. IFC’s commitments in Egypt total over $4 billion since 2005, including financing mobilised from other investors.