Energy perspectives for Egypt
While many countries across the world are grappling with the twin problems of a growing population and an ever-increasing demand for energy, nowhere is this more acute than in Egypt, one of the most populous nations on the African continent.
If business requires a strong financial backdrop and first class business banking services in order to thrive and prosper, it also needs a stable economic and political environment in which to operate. Egypt certainly provides the former. Sadly, the economics and politics have almost brought the country to its knees.
As a result, foreign direct investment has plummeted since the January 2011 revolution; tourist numbers, while beginning to recover now, are nowhere near the pre-revolutionary levels; and the country seems to lurch from one political crisis to another. Hardly an environment conducive to attracting overseas investment.
But all is not lost, say commentators, not least because of Egypt’s tremendous potential in terms of its people and abundant natural resources. Nowhere is this more apparent than when looking at the country’s renewable energy (RE) sector.
The RE sector is still very much at the embryonic stage of development, with foreign investment levels curtailed because of the continuing unrest and uncertainty. But investors will return in great numbers at some point along with bank prosperity, say the commentators, simply because the RE capacity of the country is so vast.
Read the full article by Salman Zafar via Cleantech Solutions.
[Photo by Green Prophet | Flickr]
