This edition of the academy will bring together EMGN members and invited institutions to share experiences and operational practices in green product design and ESG integration. The program will highlight how Credit Guarantee Institutions (CGIs) can develop innovative green guarantee schemes, align with international sustainability frameworks, and respond to increasing regulatory and market demands for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) transparency.

The two-day event will feature interactive peer-to-peer sessions, presentations of green guarantee practices from the EMGN network and guest institutions from Finland and Kosovo, and sessions with leading experts from organizations such as the Green Guarantee Group, the Development Guarantee Group, the Green Guarantee Company, KPMG Ghana, and the International Labour Organisation.

Day 1 will be dedicated to Green Guarantee Schemes in Action, with a focus on practical approaches to product design, impact metrics, and collaborative financing models.

Day 2 will cover ESG Monitoring and Integration, exploring actionable strategies for embedding ESG criteria into institutional operations, risk frameworks, and reporting systems.

Moderated by experienced facilitators and international specialists, the academy aims to strengthen cross-regional collaboration and equip CGIs with the tools to advance the green transition through more effective and responsible guarantee mechanisms.

The Spring Academy of 2025 is organised by the Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network (EMGN), led by the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA) and the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMED) in collaboration with the Development Guarantee Group, the Green Guarantee Company,  and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Academy is hosted by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as a side event to the Sustainable Digital Week.

Link to the event agenda

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Additionally, experts will be invited to discuss communication strategies with international Development agencies and local banks and to teach participants the art of mastering storytelling. Moderated by a professional moderator and expert in communication, the academy promises to be rich in interactions, foster collaboration, and bring valuable insights for participants to apply within their institutions to enhance their operations.

The Autumn Academy of 2024 is organised by the Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network (EMGN), led by the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA) in collaboration with The Change Initiative and TEDx Ambassador (TED), Coach and Presenter at TED & TEDx, Mr Ajit Sharma. The Academy is hosted by CGC Egypt, a Credit Guarantee Company in Egypt, and a member of the EMGN Network. EMGN Academies are carried out as part of a project financed by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) commissioned by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, namely: “Innovation Fund Jobs through Trade and Investment in the Southern Neighbourhood of the EU”.

Download EMGN Autumn Academy 2024 booklet

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Additionally, experts will be invited to discuss the implementation of IFRS9 for guarantee institutions, and special guests from the African Solidarity Fund will share their experiences with regional guarantee mechanisms in Africa. Moderated by a team of consultants with over 25 years of experience in the financial sector, the academy promises to be rich in interactions, foster collaboration, and bring valuable insights for participants to apply within their institutions to enhance their operations.

The Spring Academy of 2024 is organised by the Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network (EMGN), led by the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA) in collaboration with FINACTU. The Academy is hosted by SOTUGAR, a Credit Guarantee Company in Tunis, and a member of the EMGN Network. EMGN Academies are carried out as part of a project financed by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) commissioned by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, namely: “Innovation Fund Jobs through Trade and Investment in the Southern Neighbourhood of the EU”.

Download EMGN Spring Academy 2024 booklet_Eng

Download EMGN Spring Academy 2024 booklet_FR

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The Winter Academy of 2024 is organised by the Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network (EMGN), led by the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA) in collaboration with  the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMED) , the Business School of Essex from the University of Essex  and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). The Academy is hosted by Tamwilcom, a Credit Guarantee Company in Morocco, and a member of the EMGN Network. EMGN Academies are carried out as part of a project financed by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) commissioned by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, namely: “Innovation Fund Jobs through Trade and Investment in the Southern Neighbourhood of the EU”.

Download EMGN Winter Academy 2024 booklet .pdf

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The Autumn Academy of 2023 is organised by the Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network (EMGN), led by the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA), in collaboration with Center for Banking Research of Bayes Business School, and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The event is hosted by Sotugar, Credit Guarantee Company in Tunisia and member of the EMGN Network.  The EMGN Academies are carried out as part of a project financed by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) commissioned by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, namely: “Innovation Fund Jobs through Trade and Investment in the Southern Neighbourhood of the EU”.

The Academy will combine contributions from various experts, along with interactive sessions tailored for adult education, facilitated by a professional facilitator who will lead the group throughout the process.

Download EMGN Autumn Academy 2023 booklet .pdf

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The AECM Annual Event 2023 took place in Athens on 15-17 June 2023 under the title “The regulatory framework of SMEs: how close are we to the red line of red tape?”. It was hosted by the Hellenic Development Bank SA and keynote speaker of the event was Ms. Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive, European Investment Fund (EIF).

On the first day of the event Ms. Nagla Bahr presented the Credit Guarantee Company of Egypt (CGC) which officially became a partner of the AECM during the meeting of the AECM General Assembly. Mr. George Christopoulos, Communication Officer of the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association – EMEA – one of the founding promoters of the Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network -EMGN – also attended the meeting.

On the second day of the event Ms. Nagla Bahr was one of the speakers of the panel “The regulatory framework of SMEs from an international perspective” along with Cha Ji Yeong, Deputy General Manager, Korea Federation of Credit Guarantee Foundations (KOREG), Korea, and Mohammed Al-Jafari, Chairman of the Jordan Innovative Start-ups and SMEs Fund (ISSF) and Director General of the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corp. (JLGC).

Introductory speaker of the panel was Luz Stella Lozano, Secretary General of the Association of the Ibero-American network of guarantees, REGAR and the discussion was modertated by José Fernando Figueiredo, Special Honorary President of AECM with the special mandate for international relations and Founding President of the Global Network of Guarantee Institutions (GNGI).

In her presentation, Ms. Nagla Bahr stressed on the importance of the proper positioning of the guarantee industry on the global economy map and the need for collective efforts by all schemes and networks to achieve this goal. She underlined that positioning should be granted particularly after the exceptional role played by the guarantee industry during and post pandemic and resulted in securing the stability of the financial markets by empowering the small businesses and enabling their business continuity during this difficult time.

In her opinion, securing a suitable guarantee regulatory framework should be an output of this proper positioning, where the industry will be having the right platform through which right regulations could be developed suiting the unique nature of the industry.

Nagla also highlighted that this is the right momentum to pursue this route, particularly with the global call for an expanded role of the guarantee due to the current global economic crisis and the high vulnerability of the small businesses.

She also marked that in parallel to this global positing approach and for the industry to be able to play its expected role, there is a crucial need to clearly specify governments commitments vis-à-vis the industry and ensure lines of finance are secured for the involved schemes, as well as the suitable regulations that are specially tailored for the guarantee industry.

In addition, she referred to the importance of the guarantee schemes themselves to revisit their business model(s) and to ensure a sustainable model is in place associated with proper operational framework to enable business growth within a healthy environment.

AECM, the European Association of Guarantee Institutions, is a member-based non-profit international association, founded in 1992 to represent its members towards EU institutions, to facilitate the knowledge exchange between its members and to promote the guarantee instrument. Today, AECM has 48 members who are operating in 31 European countries, as well as 3 supranational partners (REGAR, the SME Finance Forum, and EMGN).

The Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network – EMGN seeks to alleviate the region’s structural constraints for MSMEs to access to finance by gathering guarantee schemes active in the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean. EMGN is promoted by the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association – EMEA, the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

On 2022 EMGN was granted the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) label for its regional added-value. The UfM label allows project promoters to mobilise governments and stakeholders, raise awareness and visibility and gain access to a strong network of donors and financial institutions.

Credit Guarantee Company (CGC) is an Egyptian, private, joint stock company, established on December 9, 1989 under the provisions of the Company Law 159/1981. CGC started its activity in 1991. CGC’s shareholders are Central Bank of Egypt (20%), 7 banks and an insurance company. CGC seeks to: assist in fostering the Egyptian economy, generating new job opportunities, and reducing unemployment through the provision of guarantees to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

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