Japan provides assistance for women empowerment in Old Cairo

CAIRO - 21 February 2020: Ambassador of Japan to Egypt Masaki Noke and Chairman of Gozour Foundation for Development Ali Mokhtar signed Thursday Japanese grant contract for Grassroots Human Security Projects, Japan’s embassy said in a statement.

The grant assistance, amounting to 83,708 dollars, is extended by the government of Japan to Gozour Foundation for Development for the purpose of supporting women in Old Cairo and its surrounding areas through implementing vocational skills training, aimed at creating employment and income generating opportunities for women in need.

In this project, particular emphasis will be given to training women as a sole proprietor (self-employed). The new project will offer an opportunity to acquire specific skills which match recent demands in the Egyptian market. Through the launch of this project, female participants are able to obtain professional skills in the field of cooking and handicraft. The project also focuses on their learning how to promote their products by introducing various marketing strategies.

Japan is committed to support women’s empowerment and to enhance gender equality worldwide with the belief that creating “a society in which women shine” that will positively influence the world. At the grant contract signing ceremony, ambassador Noke expressed his respect and appreciation for the Foundation’s long-standing dedication to support marginalized women and expressed his joy for the second-time collaborations with the Foundation.

This grant is extended under the Japanese government’s assistance scheme for Grassroots Human Security Projects, which provides support to non-profitable organizations and NGOs in fields such as education, health, social welfare, environment, vocational training and empowerment of women. This scheme was launched in Egypt in 1994, and 168 projects have been implemented to date, totaling about 9 million dollars.

In 2018, Gozour Foundation has implemented an employment support program for women through the same project scheme. The previous project focused on strengthening young women’s business English and IT skills to meet the current needs of job market.