The National Programme for Community, Human and Local Development, known as Mashrouak (Your Project) has helped set up 200,000 businesses nationwide with loans totalling LE25.6 billion, a government minister announced on Sunday.
Egypt’s Minister of Local Development Hisham Amna added that the programme has created 2 million jobs since its launch in 2015.
Mashrouak came in response to directives from the political leadership to encourage young people to establish micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to accelerate development and reduce unemployment, the minister said.
This step promotes comprehensive development national through the implementation of medium and small projects to transform rural areas into productive areas, to improve living standards, and give young people a chance to become investors.
The ministry supports MSMEs because they are crucial to development and productivity in various fields, and they are part of Egypt’s Vision 2030, Amna said.
The largest proportion (22,000) of new businesses is in el-Minya Governorate, Upper Egypt, followed by Sohag with 21,000 and Daqahliya, 16,000.
Mashrouak not only finances projects, but also helps overcome obstacles to implementation by offering a one-stop system to receive and respond to requests, reducing loan application paperwork, facilitating finance, and simplifying procedure to obtain bank approval, the minister said.
This project works with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to finance businesses at interest rates of less than 5 per cent, the minister added.
Mashrouak is the gateway for youth entrepreneurship to implement projects that support the national economy, he said.
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