Egyptian renewables projects will get a financial boost from the UK: Nine green projects from across Egypt have been chosen to join the UK’s Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) Egypt’s inaugural program, according to a statement (pdf) released on Tuesday. The projects will receive technical assistance to help them attract finance from international investors.

The details: Selected according to the five criteria proposed by the CFA, the projects operate in renewable energy, waste, blue economy, agriculture and manufacturing. The accelerator will work with the companies on capacity-building before they meet with investors and financial institutions at an April workshop to network and pitch their projects.

The selected projects are:

• Al Dawara: Aims to create plant-based single-use products.
• Creative Power Solutions: A thermal solar panels manufacturer.
• Farmtopia: Automates farming processes such as irrigation using artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.
• Green Fashion: Produces eco-friendly fashion.
• IRSC Renewable Energy Solutions: Provides agricultural and financial support to small-scale farmers.
• ReNile: Uses advanced monitoring technologies to promote precision farming.
• Tile Green: Produces eco-friendly building materials from plastic waste.
• Zr3i: A digital agriculture platform focused on precision farming.

What is CFA? Announced prior to COP27 in November, the CFA is a GBP 10 mn, four-year technical assistance program funded by the UK government to build a pipeline of bankable low carbon projects in eight middle-income countries, helping them achieve national climate plans. South Africa-based consultancy firm Genesis Analytics and Egypt-based Acumen Consulting are working with the CFA on the local program.

Extra support for sustainable agriculture: The CFA will also support the Egypt-based Climate Resilience Fund, a USD 25 mn Middle East and Africa-focused VC fund that will provide pre-seed funding to startups working in sustainable agriculture. The fund will deploy half of its capital in Egyptian startups and the other half will be split between the Middle East and Africa.