Finance Desk

Islam Zekry, Group Chief Finance & Operation Officer and Executive Board Member at CIB, explores how GCC-Africa partnerships are driving economic growth, resilience and a transformative era of South-South cooperation, and how Egypt’s strategic location and financial expertise position it as a key player in emerging trade corridors.

Global Finance: How can new trade alliances and partnerships, particularly between the GCC and African nations, drive economic growth and resilience across both regions?

Islam Zekry: The partnership between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Africa is gaining momentum. However, what is changing is the depth and strategic intent behind these partnerships. As global supply chains fragment and capital becomes more selective, structured trade alliances between GCC nations and African economies have the potential to create one of the most significant South–South growth corridors of the next decade.

Several structural complementarities underpin this opportunity. GCC economies possess deep capital pools, sovereign investment vehicles, advanced logistics capabilities and strong global trade linkages. In addition, many African economies are rich in natural resources, arable land, renewable energy potential and rapidly growing consumer markets with favorable demographics.

When strategically aligned, partnerships can yield positive growth outcomes. For example, food security partnerships, where African agricultural production meets Gulf demand, demonstrate this potential. Moreover, investments in energy and transition, particularly in renewables and green hydrogen, support the transition towards cleaner energy resources. Such partnerships can also drive the development of the infrastructure and logistics sector—strengthening ports, industrial zones and transport corridors. Ultimately, financial sector integration enhances capital flows and trade finance capacity.

“Egypt is not just a transit point for global trade—it is becoming a focal point in a more integrated Afro-Arab economic architecture.”

Islam Zekry, Group Chief Finance & Operation Officer and Executive Board Member at CIB

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Beyond capital deployment, what differentiates the next phase of GCC–Africa engagement is the development of capacity for resilience. Global shocks—whether pandemic disruptions, geopolitical tensions or commodity volatility—have demonstrated the importance of diversified trade relationships. GCC–Africa alliances reduce overdependence on traditional West–East corridors, creating balanced, multipolar trade flows.

Therefore, for these partnerships to reach their full potential, financial architecture must evolve in tandem with physical infrastructure. Efficient cross-border payment systems, local currency settlement mechanisms, risk-sharing frameworks and strong banking partnerships determine how seamlessly goods, services,and capital move between the two regions. This is where banks with both regional understanding and international connectivity play a transformative role, not merely as financial intermediaries, but as enablers of structured trade ecosystems.

GF: What makes Egypt uniquely positioned to serve as a trade and investment hub between the Middle East and Africa, and how can this role evolve in the context of emerging trade corridors?

Zekry: Strategically positioned at the convergence of Africa, the Middle East and Europe, Egypt controls one of the world’s crucial maritime arteries through the Suez Canal. The country boasts one of Africa’s largest and most diversified economies and hosts one of the region’s leading banking sectors.

However, Egypt’s strategic relevance goes beyond geography. The country serves as a natural logistical bridge. It connects Mediterranean trade routes with Red Sea and Gulf shipping lanes while maintaining deep commercial ties across Sub-Saharan Africa. This dual orientation—northward to Europe and southward into Africa—positions Egypt as a balancing hub within emerging trade corridors.

The country has also built significant industrial and export capacity. Its robust manufacturing base, expanding energy sector,and growing role in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and renewable energy markets position it as a credible anchor economy within regional value chains. Egypt’s financial institutions support cross-border expansion and structured trade finance. Egyptian banks have developed strong capital bases, regional expertise and global correspondent networks, enabling them to intermediate complex trade flows across Africa and the Middle East.

As new trade corridors emerge, from Red Sea logistics networks to Gulf-backed infrastructure investments in East Africa, alongside the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) driven continental integration, Egypt’s role is set to evolve across three key areas. The country functions as a gateway for capital deployment into Africa, serving as a strategic hub for GCC and international investors seeking structured entry into African markets. It also has the potential to serve as a regional trade finance hub, facilitating corridor-based financing between North Africa, East Africa,and the Gulf. Finally, Egypt can act as a connector of payment ecosystems, enabling interoperability between African financial systems and Middle Eastern capital markets.

The next phase of Egypt’s development hinges on deepening this integration, aligning customs frameworks, digitizing trade documentation, strengthening regional payment systems and encouraging bilateral currency arrangements. If strategically executed, Egypt will not simply remain a transit point for global trade, but will become a focal point in a more integrated Afro-Arab economic architecture.

The future of Middle East–Africa trade alliances will not be defined solely by infrastructure announcements or headline investments. It will depend on how effectively capital, policy and financial systems converge to support real economic exchange. In this context, Egypt stands out as both a geographic and financial bridge. Therefore, strengthening GCC–Africa partnerships represents not just an opportunity, but a structural shift toward greater regional resilience and South–South cooperation.

As climate change threatens insurability, adaptation finance has become a mechanism for capturing value.

When Neptune Insurance, the largest private flood insurance provider in the US, went public last October, it quickly achieved a multibillion-dollar valuation. For investors, it signaled that climate adaptation can be both profitable and scalable and that markets are becoming willing to reward business models built around adaptation rather than avoidance.

Built on AI-powered underwriting that integrates satellite imagery and forward-looking climate data, Neptune operates on the assumption that accurately pricing climate risk can restore insurability rather than signaling a retreat from it. During Hurricane Helene, the St. Petersburg, Florida-based company posted an 18% loss ratio—dramatically outperforming the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program—while offering premiums 30% to 40% lower than alternatives.

“What we’re seeing in real time is that properties once considered uninsurable become insurable again when they’re rebuilt to modern codes and elevated,” says CEO Trevor Burgess. “That’s climate adaptation in practice.”

The potential is significant. The global investment opportunity for climate adaptation solutions is projected to grow from $2 trillion today to $9 trillion by 2050, according to a report from GIC, the Singapore sovereign wealth fund. The 2025 report, conducted with consultancy Bain, forecasts annual revenues from climate adaptation solutions—including weather intelligence systems, wind-resistant building components, flood protection infrastructure, and water conservation technologies—growing from approximately $1 trillion today to $4 trillion by 2050.

P&C Innovation

That potential is one reason the insurance industry is exploring new ways to help clients manage their risk.

“The change in insurers’ mindset to adopt innovative and transformative solutions is much higher than I have ever seen, especially in P&C insurance, where carriers are leading with AI-led solutions to study and manage climate risk,” observes Adil Ilyas, who heads the insurance group at Genpact, a professional services and technology consultancy specializing in digital transformation and AI. He points to AXA, Zurich, Allianz, and others that have launched parametric insurance solutions that give organizations fast-acting liquidity and cash flow following a disruptive event.

The acceleration of climate change adds urgency to opportunity. On LinkedIn, Allianz board member Günther Thallinger wrote in March 2025 that climate change is on the way to transforming life as we know it: “We are fast approaching temperature levels—1.5°C, 2°C, 3°C—where insurers will no longer be able to offer coverage for many of these risks. The math breaks down; the premiums required exceed what people or companies can pay. This is already happening. Entire regions are becoming uninsurable.”

A 2025 Allianz report, “Climate Risk and Corporate Valuations,” looks at industries facing accelerating risk, disrupted coverage, and fundamental questions about the future insurability of assets.

“We’re seeing a massive repricing event that’s going to unfold over the next couple of decades,” says Lead Investment Strategist and co-author Jordi Basco Carrera. “The question is whether it happens in an orderly way or whether we see a disorderly transition that creates much more volatility and destruction of value.”

The report examined how different climate scenarios would affect corporate valuations across 10 sectors in the US and Europe, using discounted cash flow models and interest coverage ratios.

Under the Net Zero 2050 scenario, representing aggressive climate policy with ambitious carbon-reduction targets, European real estate faces a staggering 40% correction in valuations. Telecommunications and consumer staples also see major setbacks. In the US, the healthcare and consumer discretionary sectors would each drop by roughly 16% while energy and basic resources face smaller declines of 6% to 7%, reflecting partial adaptation through renewables and critical materials demand.

The alternative—a delayed transition scenario where policy intervention is postponed—creates even more dangerous dynamics.

“A delayed transition is not a soft landing,” Basco Carrera observes. “It’s storing up energy for a much more violent adjustment later. The sectors that look like they’re benefiting in the short term are accumulating hidden risks.”

For CFOs managing enterprise risk, either scenario creates a new urgency. Traditional insurance would not be able to adequately protect against the systematic repricing of asset values driven by climate transition policies. Coverage typically compensates for discrete physical losses—a flooded warehouse, a storm-damaged facility—but offers no protection against the gradual or sudden devaluation of entire portfolios as carbon-intensive business models become economically unviable.

From Valuation Risk To Investment Opportunity

This is where adaptation finance enters as not just risk management, but a mechanism for capturing value during the transition.

Sectors that invest early in climate adaptation show remarkable resilience across all scenarios, according to Allianz’s research. Technology and healthcare demonstrate strength under every climate pathway analyzed while energy sectors that diversify into renewables and utilities and upgrade infrastructure face smaller corrections than those maintaining status quo operations.

Allianz’s research methodology was innovative, Basco Carrera notes, using data from the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a voluntary, international group of central banks and others launched in 2017 to manage climate-related risks in the financial sector.

“We integrated three NGFS transition scenarios into traditional financial valuation methods,” he explains. “This lets us see not just which sectors face risk, but specifically how much value is at stake and over what timeframe. That granularity is what CFOs need to make capital allocation decisions.”

The analysis introduced the concept of “Climate Elasticity of Demand,” measuring how global warming affects demand for goods and services. What emerged is a sophisticated view of how climate change will reshape entire markets, not just damage individual assets. Companies producing flood-resistant construction materials, for instance, don’t simply benefit from replacing damaged components after disasters. They capture sustained market share as building codes tighten, insurance companies mandate resilience standards, and property developers recognize that climate-resilient buildings command premium valuations.

Commercial real estate provides an example of adaptation intelligence in practice.

Munich Re’s Location Risk Intelligence tool helps users determine their climate-related expected annual losses, according to Thomas Walter, Munich Re product marketing manager. A US-based real estate investment company using the tool to evaluate a multimillion-dollar building purchase found that the building sat in a highly flood-prone area, which led the company to walk away. Within months, a severe flood hit the building.

“They avoided both losses and depreciation,” Walter says.

Returns Beyond Avoided Losses

The investment case for adaptation strengthens when the full spectrum of value creation—not just avoided disaster costs—enters the picture.

The World Resources Institute, a global research nonprofit based in Washington, DC, analyzed 320 adaptation and resilience projects across agriculture, water, health, and infrastructure. Its research found that cumulatively, the analyzed investments cost over $133 billion and were expected to generate $1.4 trillion in benefits over 10 years. Individual investments generated an average return of 27%.

These figures are likely too low, says WRI senior fellow Carter Brandon: “We found that only 8% of investment appraisals estimated the full monetized values of these dividends, suggesting that the $1.4 trillion and the average rate of return are likely substantial underestimates.”

In a recent WRI report, Brandon and colleagues put forth a “Triple Dividend of Resilience” framework that addresses avoided losses from climate events, induced economic development, and additional benefits.

“By positioning portfolios to respond swiftly to emerging climate policies and market dynamics, investors not only limit potential losses but also capitalize on opportunities presented by the growing green economy,” Brandon contends.

Abu Dhabi consolidates ADQ into L’Imad, creating $300 billion sovereign powerhouse under crown prince as emirate centralizes control over strategic investments.

L’Imad, Abu Dhabi’s newest sovereign wealth fund, took over the assets of rival state-owned fund ADQ, a development that sees a greater role in the emirate’s investment strategy by the emirate’s crown prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed, son of the UAE president Mohammed bin Zayed.

The consolidation signals Abu Dhabi’s intentions to leverage capital for adaptability and power projection. And placing L’Imad under the direct supervision of the Crown Prince is significant. According to Dubai brokerage firm Century Financial, “Abu Dhabi is treating its investment platform as a long-term project managed by top government leaders.”

Prior to the merger, ADQ held assets of $263 billion with major investments spanning airlines, energy, infrastructure, and healthcare. Following the transfer of ADQ’s assets, L’Imad will have around $300 billion in assets under management, according to data from Global SWF, a platform focusing on central banks, sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds.

ADQ was previously chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE’s influential national security adviser. He chairs the emirate’s principal wealth fund Adia (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) that oversees $1.18 trillion in assets under management. 

L’Imad’s rapid ascendancy—formed last year—looks set to become an important investment vehicle under the chairmanship of the 44-year-old crown prince. In January, the Abu Dhabi media office said the emirate’s Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs had passed a resolution consolidating the assets of L’Imad and ADQ “to create a sovereign investment powerhouse with a diversified asset base.”

The new entity includes 25 investment companies and platforms and over 250 group subsidiaries. Jassem Al-Zaabi—who is also chairman the emirate’s department of finance and vice chairman of the UAE central bank—was appointed managing director and chief executive. Meanwhile Mohamed al Suwaidi, ADQ’s first chief executive, has left to become executive chair of Abu Dhabi investment manager, Lunate.