Egyptian Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk, and CEO of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) Basil Rahmi, attended on Sunday the signing ceremony of a co-operation protocol between the two sides.
The protocol is part of the fiscal policies supporting the economic activity of the private sector and stimulating startups and entrepreneurs, aiming to achieve the agency’s financial sustainability and consolidate its role in driving the growth of SME, according to an official press release.
In remarks on the sidelines of the signing event, Minister Kouchouk, confirmed that LE5 billion has been allocated for SMEs in the new state budget, which started as of July 1.
This aims to help provide smooth financing for young entrepreneurs, mainly targeting sectors of priority, in a strong step to support the private sector,and productive ones in a ‘partnership’ path with the MSMEDA, and within the framework of a new phase of strong and effective cooperation with the agency, aimed at achieving financial sustainability of the agency to drive economic growth, the minister noted.
A preliminary agreement has been reached with MSMEDA to fund a number of initiatives to support ‘beneficiaries of tax facilities, entrepreneurship and deepening the local component in industrial, production and export projects’ as well as supporting the most vulnerable families with economic empowerment, Kouchouk noted.
“We will provide distinctive and low-cost financing during the current fiscal year for the first group that joined the simplified and unified tax system,” he further said.
For his part, MSMEDA CEO Rahmi, highly appreciated the fiscal policies that aim to stimulate the growth of emerging entities and promote economic activity.
The Minister of Finance, with his advanced thinking, opens promising prospects for the economic empowerment of young entrepreneurs, he said.
