Originally from Handbook on Third-Party Funding in International Arbitration, Second Edition

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PART I.  THE THIRD-PARTY FUNDING LANDSCAPE

1.   The TPF market in Egypt

1.1.  Please shortly describe the TPF market in your Jurisdiction.

International Arbitration is well established in Egypt. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the Egyptian market is not small, however, third-party funding is not yet widely used or common. There have been few instances where arbitration proceedings seated in Cairo (Egypt) were funded by third-party funders, but the funding arrangements were not subject to Egyptian law. 

1.2.  Is it dominated by local or international Funders? Which Funders are active? Which cases typically get funded?

As explained herein above, the recourse to third-party funding is not widely used or common in Egypt, and the few funding arrangements in relation to arbitration proceedings seated in Cairo (Egypt) were not subject to Egyptian law. It is rather international funders that are active in Egypt, when proceedings are funded by third-party funders. More generally, cases that typically get funded by third-party funders are cases with considerable amounts in dispute, such as construction cases and investment cases.

1.3.   What types of funding exist (e.g., ISDS, Commercial Arbitration, portfolio funding, respondent-side funding, etc.)?

To the extent disclosed in publicly available information and to our knowledge, third-party funding was used in investment disputes (ISDS).  This is also evidenced by the inclusion of provisions related to third-party funding in the latest (2019) Egyptian draft model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).  Third-party funding may have also been used in commercial arbitration, but such information is not publicly available.