Egypt has launched a nationwide push to turn thousands of local manufacturers into exporters, marking a clear change in how the government plans to grow and diversify the country’s export base.
The “Egypt Takes Off Through Exports” programme was unveiled last week by Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid during a visit to Tanta.
Rather than waiting for companies to navigate a maze of agencies in Cairo, the ministry will now take its services directly to factories and production sites.
Launched under the patronage of Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, the initiative follows President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s call to expand production, raise exports and widen the circle of companies that sell abroad.
Officials see exports as a vital source of growth, foreign currency and jobs.
Minister Farid told the launch event that Egypt has made solid progress in recent years.
The real problem, he said, is no longer the overall volume of exports but the tiny number of firms involved.
Just 50 companies account for nearly 45 per cent of total exports, and only 730 have so far used the country’s export support programmes.
Those figures, he argued, show the urgent need to reach thousands more businesses across the country.
“The ministry will no longer wait for companies to come to us,” Farid said. “We will take our services to the factories.”
The programme brings together the Export Development Authority, the Export Development Fund, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, the General Organisation for Exhibitions and Conferences, and the Egyptian Commercial Service under one roof.
Minister Farid described it as a national partnership that includes government bodies, the private sector, universities and local authorities.
The goal goes beyond higher export numbers. Officials also want to build recognisable Egyptian brands that can compete on the world stage.
“Just as Egypt introduced Mohamed Salah to the world through football,” Minister Farid said, “we want to introduce Egyptian companies that achieve the same success with their products.”
Choosing Gharbia for the launch was deliberate. The governorate has exported about $2.1 billion in products over the past five years and has a mix of industry and agriculture that can support further growth.
Minister Farid said his ministry hopes to spark healthy competition between governorates by encouraging each to raise its share of national exports.
Gharbia Governor Alaa Abdel Moaty said the province already has strong manufacturing clusters, productive villages and a growing base of small and medium-sized enterprises.
He pledged to give investors a supportive environment and to improve product quality, packaging, marketing and vocational training so local industries can compete more effectively.
Economists have welcomed the approach. Walid Gaballah, a member of the Egyptian Society for Economics and Legislation, said relying on a handful of large exporters leaves the economy vulnerable to external shocks and limits market diversification.
Expanding the number of exporting companies, especially smaller ones, would strengthen industry, bring in more foreign currency and create jobs across the country, he said.
Another economist, Hany Tawfik, noted that many Egyptian manufacturers already make goods that could sell abroad but lack the know-how to meet export standards or find overseas buyers.
Taking government support to the factory floor, he argued, could remove many of those barriers.
The initiative also signals a wider change in policy: moving from one-off incentives to continuous support that covers everything from product development and market research to trade promotion.
If it works, “Egypt Takes Off Through Exports” could create a broader and more resilient exporter base, make Egyptian products more competitive, and help turn exports into one of the main engines of sustainable growth, economists and specialists said.
