DFF non SME: GoBus inter-city

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

Provision of a senior loan of up to EGP 616.9 million (ca. EUR 10.6 million) to Go Bus ("Go Bus" or the "Company") to support the acquisition of: (i) up to 30 new buses to operate as part of their inter-city transportation services, (ii) up to 6 electric micro-buses for shorter routes and up to 3 EVs operating intracity.

Project ID 55464

Status Passed Concept Review, Pending Final Review

Location

Egypt

Business Sector

Transport

Notice Type

Private

Company Contact Information

Milad Agaybe
milad.agaybe@gobus-eg.com
01287299999
www.go-bus.com
Plot n23, South Kattameya, Old Desert Road Cairo, Ein Sokhna Egypt

Project ID 55464

Status Passed Concept Review, Pending Final Review

Location

Egypt

Business Sector

Transport

Notice Type

Private

Environmental Category

Approval Date

03 Jun 2025

Disclosure date

04 Jun 2025

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

Project Description

Project Objectives

The objective of the Project is to support Go Bus's operational expansion and fleet renewal through acquisition of modern buses for long-haul inter-city operation and electric vehicles ("EVs") for operation on shorter routes.

Transition Impact

ETI score:67

primary transaction impact of the Project is Well-Governed as it supports the improvement of the Company's governance standards through the establishment of a focused Anti-Corruption Action Plan ("ACAP").

The secondary transition impact of the Project is Integrated as the new fleet to be acquired will be used for inter-city transportation, where some routes are serviced only by the Company with the alternative transport mode being private vehicles or domestic flights, which are more polluting.

Client Information

GO BUS FOR TRANSPORT SAE

The Borrower is Go Bus, one of the leading private inter-city bus transportation companies in Egypt since 1998. Go Bus currently operates 26 routes throughout Egypt, including 16 originating from Cairo and leading to popular destinations such as Alexandria, the North Coast, Marsa Allam, Luxor and Dahab. Go Bus maintains a strong regional presence with 63 stations spread across various governorates and operates a fleet of more than 290 buses, serving approximately 2.5 million passengers annually. While inter-city transportation forms its core service, Go Bus also operates other revenue-generating lines of business. Notably, "Go Express" offers land shipping services on its buses, "Go Limo," a premium limousine service, operates a fleet of 39 vehicles. While "Go Mini" is a ride-hailing app providing fast, safe and budget-friendly inter-city transport solutions, serving an average of c. 75,000 passengers per month.

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 10,600,000.00

Senior loan of up to EGP 616.9million, equivalent to around EUR 10.6 million, expected to be complemented by EUR 600,000 of grant funding from ERBD's Special Shareholder Fund ("SSF").

Total Project Cost

EUR 14,940,000.00

The total Project Cost is EGP 868.72 million (EUR 14.94 million).

Existing exposure: None.

Additionality

EBRD's involvement is considered additional in terms of:

(i) financing structure as the EBRD loan is intended to be complemented by an investment grant to enable realisation of a high capital-intensive transaction that is expected to have considerable environmental benefits and strong demonstration effect;

(ii) standard-setting as the Project introduces higher corporate governance standards through the establishment of a focused ACAP and higher gender/ equal opportunities standards through the improvement of women's access to safe transport through the training of drivers to address gender-based harassment; and

(iii) knowledge, innovation and capacity building through the adoption of gender standards and/or equal opportunities action plan (improving women's access to safe transport and/or women-led businesses participation in the client supply chain).

Environmental and Social Summary

Categorised B (ESP 2019). The environmental and social (E&S) impacts associated with the Project are readily identified, and can be addressed through adequate mitigation measures. These include the implementation of good practice E&S management arrangements and a targeted Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP).

The E&S due diligence (ESDD) for the Project was undertaken internally and included an assessment of GoBus (the "Company") E&S arrangements through questionnaires, a review of various documents and an online search of publicly available information related to the Company's operations. The ESDD assessed the Company's current activities and E&S capacity to meet the Banks E&S Performance Requirements (PRs).

The ESDD confirmed that the Company has developed a Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental (QHSE) manual, which includes relevant policies and procedures for managing operations. The QHSE manual outlines Environmental, Health and Safety goals, objectives, targets as well as various procedures. To support the management of QHSE within the Company, a dedicated QHSE manager has been appointed. The Company also provided risk assessments covering office work, fleet transportation, and maintenance activities, which identified various hazards, and included appropriate control measures to manage health and safety risks.

Further ongoing review and enhancement of the QHSE manual will be required as part of the Company's continuous improvement process, particularly to address risks associated with the planned introduction of electric mini-buses.

The Company has developed and implemented various Human Resources (HR) policies, including a Code of Ethics and Conduct, which has been approved by the CEO. ESDD confirmed that HR policies generally align with PR2 requirements and include a worker grievance mechanism and whistleblower policy.

The Company confirmed that buses operate 24/7 and each bus is staffed by two drivers. A Fatigue Management Procedure has been developed, stipulating that no driver may operate for more than 4.5 hours without taking a rest break, and no more than 56 hours per week. These limits are in line with the EU and AETR regulations governing driver hours for passenger transport vehicles.

To support road safety, the Company has also developed a Transportation Safety Manual, which includes mandatory Road Safety rules for all drivers. The Company currently employs no female drivers and sleeping accommodation at some bus depots are male-only. All drivers receive training; however, this does not currently include training related to potential Gender Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH) incidents to bus passengers. The development of GBVH driver training materials has been discussed with the Company. A technical cooperation assignment supported by the Bank will be launched to develop a series of short GBVH training videos, which will benefit GoBus and other passenger transport projects.

An operational grievance procedure is in place and includes publicising a hotline / WhatsApp number across its bus fleets and depots. It was also confirmed the company website shared a WhatsApp number and email address for customer complaints. The Company confirmed complaints are generally infrequent and mainly concern delays and breakdowns, for which a compensation process exists.

An ESAP has been developed and will be agreed with the company. The ESAP will require the Company to review and further develop its environmental, occupational health and safety, and road traffic safety management systems. The Company will also be required to review existing contractor and supply chain terms and conditions and integrate appropriate E&S requirements.

A risk assessment is required to be developed to evaluate the safety and security of vulnerable passengers, and training must be developed to enable drivers to identify, intervene in, and report any concerning incidents. The Company will be required to submit an annual E&S monitoring report to the Bank, along with a progress update on the ESAP implementation.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

A. Technical Cooperation (TC)

Pre-signing:

Legal Project Preparation Support necessary for the preparation and negotiations of the financing agreements considering it is the Client's first time working with an IFI. The total cost of the assignment is estimated to be up to EUR 75,000 from SEMED MDA.

Post-signing:

Corporate governance support to the Company to strengthen its corporate governance standards. The total cost of the assignment is estimated to be up to EUR 75,000 from SEMED Multi Donor Fund with a client contribution of 20%.

B. Blended Concessional Finance

The EBRD loan is expected to be complemented by a EUR 600,000 grant from the Special Shareholders Fund ("SSF") to finance the electric vehicles, as part of the financing mix for this highly capital intensive investment plan. The Project supports the company's operational expansion and fleet renewal through acquisition of modern buses for long-haul inter-city operation and electric vehicles ("EVs") for operation on shorter routes.

The loan will be supported by an EU EFSD Guarantee and will benefit from a 10% first loss EFSD+ guarantee (net EU guarantee cover of 9.5%) under Municipal Infrastructure and Industrial Resilience guarantee program.

Company Contact Information

Milad Agaybe
milad.agaybe@gobus-eg.com
01287299999
www.go-bus.com
Plot n23, South Kattameya, Old Desert Road Cairo, Ein Sokhna Egypt

Implementation Summary

PSD Last Updated

04 Jun 2025

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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DFF non SME: GoBus inter-city

Overview

Company Contact Information

Project Description

Project Objectives

Transition Impact

Client Information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total Project Cost

Additionality

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

Implementation Summary

PSD Last Updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)