Egypt has made unprecedented achievements in various economic and social domains over the past seven years, since President Abdel Fattah El Sisi took office in June 2014, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli said.
Responding to presidential directives, the government has taken pioneering steps for achieving comprehensive and sustainable development, Madbouli added.
Several presidential initiatives and national action plans have been implemented over the years to prop up various economic and social sectors, with active participation of all state bodies and institutions, including the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), the prime minister wrote in an introduction of a report on the MSMEDA’s performance since July 1, 2014, to May 31, 2021.
This has led to improvement of the basic services across the nation, particularly in remote and underdeveloped areas, the prime minister, also doubles as MSMEDA Chairman, said.
The government has paid due attention over the past years to improving micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector, as the backbone of the economy, Madbouli stressed, adding that the MMSMEDA has charted fresh horizons for development, and set priorities for building a better future.
It has also drawn up a structured policy framework for SMEs to help entrepreneurs establish and grow their businesses through providing a range of programmes such as business support services, microfinance activities and a network of business incubators.
The MSMEDA, a leading state agency concerned with developing the small, medium and micro enterprises, has been generously supported by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
Investments to MSMEs hit LE32.2 billion, over the period, July 2014 till May 2021, the report said. Roughly LE14.6 billion went to financing micro ventures, and LE17.7 billion to small enterprises.
The World Bank had financed up to 450,000 small and micro projects in Egypt, which in turn created more than 640,000 jobs nationwide, according to the report.
A $200 million agreement was signed between the MSMEDA and the World Bank to finance SMEs through intermediaries: banks, microfinance institutions and non-bank financing institutions such as financial leasing companies, factoring companies, and NGOs. The agreement includes establishing $50m venture capital to finance early-stage firms, the report said.
The MSMEDA co-operates with a large number of international agencies, atop of which comes the European Investment Bank (EIB), a key partner in a number of development projects nationwide in Egypt.
From July 2014 till February 2021, the MSMEDA mobilised LE322.6 million for Port Said in the form of loans and grants; loans amounted to LE304.1 million and financed the establishment of around 9,000 small and micro enterprises and, therefore, created about 16,000 job opportunities.
Grants totalling LE18.5 million were earmarked for infrastructure, human and community development projects and resulted in the generation of around 44,000 daily jobs for young people in the governorate.
Egypt has around 2.5 million SMEs, accounting for 75 per cent of the labour force. In some cases, SMEs are at the forefront of some of the most innovative and emerging sectors, such as biotech, renewable energy, green ICT and services, the report noted.
Over the seven years, MSMEDA provided LE3.7 billion in funding to 124,000 small and micro businesses from January to November 2020, according to Minister of Trade and Industry Neven Gamea, who doubles as MSMEDA Executive Director.
The authority has successfully provided a package of non-financial services, developed to be provided electronically, the minister said.
Over 43,000 young Egyptians have benefited from the training courses offered by MSMEDA on entrepreneurship, with more than 15,000 also registering at government agencies, and won tenders amounting to LE770.6 million.
A total of 277 integration deals between projects have also been implemented, with the deals amounting to LE14 million. A further 274 projects have been implemented involving public and private firms, achieving sales worth LE6.2 million.
A total of 241 new projects were registered on the Small Enterprises platform, to help them market their products. This came in addition to the agency organizing 878 exhibitions, in which 18,000 exhibitors participated, and who achieved sales of more than LE360 million.
Meanwhile, the National Council for Women (NCW), in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), has awarded MSMEDA Gender Seal Award in the public sector.
The MSMEDA has funded micro and small ventures worth LE9.7 billion for female entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, the MSMEDA has clinched a raft of pacts with a number of world institutions to finance SMEs in Egypt, including the World Bank ($200m), European Union (70 million euros), EIB (15 million euros) and Agence Française de Developpement (15 million euros).
