MSMEDA allocates dlrs 50m for innovative projects

19 / 06 / 2019

• SMEs

The executive director of Egypt’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), Niveen Gamea, said the agency signed a 200-million-dollar deal with the World Bank to support small and medium sized projects (SMEs), noting that 50 million dollars would go for innovative projects.

Gamea made the remarks during a conference of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) which is held in Cairo from June 18 to 21.

Gamea said the MSMEDA has adopted a nontraditional strategy to support innovative entrepreneurs.
She added that the state is deeply interested in promoting SMEs to realize development away from traditional means.

Meanwhile, ICSB board member for SMEs Amr Abul Azm said President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has buttressed entrepreneurship and the ministries concerned.

He noted that many initiatives have been launched in this respect, citing the initiatives of the Central Bank of Egypt, business accelerators and projects incubators.

He added that the economy based on SMEs witnessed an outstanding development in Egypt’s history, referring to the number of the companies set up annually and the spread of awareness of the importance of entrepreneurship among decision makers and those concerned with the domain.

Abul Azm underlined the importance of youths’ adoption of the thought of entrepreneurship, urging various authorities to cooperate to occupy an international position in this score that is commensurate with Egypt’s position.

He stressed the importance of benefiting from the 65-year experience of the ICSB in the SMEs and entrepreneurship domains.

For his part, Director of International Labor Organization’s office in Cairo Eric Oechslin said major companies cannot meet growing social and economic needs, adding that SMEs and entrepreneurship generate massive job opportunities for various segments, including women and refugees.