EAPD, IBDL cooperate to prepare 1000 African business leaders

CAIRO – 14 July 2017: The Egyptian Agency of Partnership and Development (EAPD) launched on Thursday the “Executive Leaders” scholarship program targeting 1000 executive leaders from 21 African countries. The scholarship program is implemented in cooperation with the International Business Driving License (IBDL). Ambassadors from 21 African countries attended the launching event in Cairo.

The Executive leaders scholarship aims to boost the capacity of African professionals in business management. Furthermore, it is part of Egypt’s continuous commitment to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and to cooperate with the African countries through developing modern management models and supporting entrepreneurship in Africa.

"Twenty-one African countries will benefit from this scholarship in its first phase which includes the business basic level from the IBDL International Certificate," said Hazem Fahmy, Secretary-General EAPD, in a statement on Thursday. Fahmy added that two local training and monitoring centers will work to ensure the program’s sustainability.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IBDL, Khaled Khallaf, said: “the certificate supports empowering those with business management skills. It also helps the international and local community to speak one business language.” Khallaf added that the program contributes to economy growth in the targeted countries as well as an increase in production.

In June 2014 at the twenty-third Summit of the African Union in Malabo, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi announced the launch of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development. The agency was established in July 2014 after merging "The Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa" and "The Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with the countries of the Commonwealth and Islamic countries and the Newly Independent States."

EAPD’s mandate is to grant technical cooperation and humanitarian assistance to African and Islamic countries, organize training courses and workshops, promote the collaboration with the United Nations, developed countries, regional and international organizations within the framework of south-south, and north-south cooperation, and contribute to funding and mobilizing funds for development projects.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, chairs EAPD Board.