€3M in German grant to support Egypt's employment initiative

CAIRO – 25 April 2021: Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, reviewed the objectives of the agreement signed between Egypt and Germany on the development of small and medium enterprises, which was approved by the Egyptian Parliament during its plenary session held on Sunday.

Al-Mashat explained, in a statement, that coordination has been made with the German side to obtain a grant of € 3 million, within the scope of financing the special initiative for employment and training, to finance the project "Partnership to create jobs and support small and medium enterprises in the Arab Republic of Egypt."

She emphasized that this came in light of the Ministry of International Cooperation's keenness to support small and medium enterprises and create more job opportunities to overcome the repercussions of the Corona crisis.

The minister said that the project aims to provide grants to companies, non-profit organizations and partners in the public sector, with the aim of removing investment obstacles and obstacles to creating a better spectrum, and stimulating the growth of Egyptian, African and European companies in Egypt.

Al-Mashat emphasized that the agreement aims to create high-quality job opportunities by boosting investments and increasing sales.

She added that the project serves the sustainable development goals: the eighth goal, decent work and economic growth, and the ninth goal, industry, innovation and infrastructure.

The House of Representatives approved, in its plenary session, Presidential Decree No. 109 of 2021 regarding approval of exchanged letters between Egypt and Germany regarding a partnership project to create jobs and support small and medium enterprises in Egypt, from which the Ministry of Trade and Industry would benefit.

Al-Mashat clarified that within the framework of this project, it is planned to accompany companies during their preparation and implementation of specific cooperation agreements and tangible investments, and to provide advice to active companies, with the aim of expanding their commercial activities based on the needs of each company, such as the field of product development, obtaining quality certificates, financing, establishing and carrying out qualification measures.