British Council completes social enterprise training to 8 ministries, 4 institutes, 3 universities

Cairo, 7 August 2019: Within one year of launching the Developing Inclusive and Creative Economies programme in 5 countries worldwide, the British Council secured partnerships with four ministries and government institutions, and completed social enterprise government training at eight ministries, four national institutes and three universities in Egypt.

Almost 250 key stakeholders from different government agencies attended the programme’s information sessions or engaged in focused training workshops.

Ministry of Trade and Industry represented by Industrial Modernization center – Creative Egypt programme; Federation of Egyptian Industries; Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies and; Export Development Authority & Chamber of Handicrafts are among the key government partners of the programme.

The objective is to establish new - or develop existing - creative hubs and incubators focused on creative and social enterprise, through training and capacity building, with the purpose of creating jobs and fostering social entrepreneurship that contributes to the community and the environment.

The partnership with Ministry of Trade and Industry will drive capacity building for Creative Egypt,to help local artisans expand in local markets or access export opportunities.

On the other hand, Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies will develop the National Academy for Disabilities Technologies through the programme, as part of its objective to create job opportunities for people with special needs through creative enterprise. In addition, the partnership will transfer know-how for the development of assistive technologies.

Quote by Elizabeth White, Director of the British Council in Egypt said: “The programme comes as part of our continuous work to build cultural bridges between Egypt and the UK, andshare our experience with creative enterprise, which contributes today with over GBP100 billion to the UK economy.

We want to help policymakers in Egypt foster and encourage creative and social enterprise, which has the power to grow the size and resilience of the local economy.”

The project aims to bring government, academia, civil society, and businesses to work on developing creative ventures, to help mitigate poverty, inequality and joblessness for young people, promote women’s empowerment, and support marginalized groups.