Egypt aims for private sector to constitute over 70% of its economy: Finance minister

CAIRO - 17 April 2024: Egypt is intensifying its support for the private sector, with a target of allowing it to encompass more than 70 percent of the country's economic activity. This announcement was made by Mohamed Maait, Egypt's Minister of Finance, during the "Governor Talks - Egypt: Lessons in Restoring Macroeconomic Stability" event held at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings.

 

According to Maait, the Egyptian government is committed to empowering the private sector to take the lead in driving economic growth and capturing a significant share, ranging between 65 percent and 70 percent, of the market. The strategy focuses on nurturing local production and promoting exports, as well as creating ample room for private sector expansion. To this end, the government has set a cap of EGP one trillion for state public investments in the upcoming fiscal year, allowing the private sector to flourish and generate approximately one million job opportunities annually.

 

Maait emphasized the pressing need for the private sector to assume a more prominent role in Egypt's economy, considering that nearly one million young individuals enter the labor market yearly while the government can only create around 100,000 new jobs. By enabling the private sector to drive economic growth, it is estimated that around 900,000 jobs, or possibly more, could be generated annually.

 

During the discussion, Maait outlined three key objectives he is currently focused on. Firstly, he aims to coordinate with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to reduce inflation to a target range of 7% (±2). Secondly, he aims to lower interest rates to stimulate investment. Finally, he expressed the need to increase investments in human development, particularly in healthcare, education, and supporting various economic sectors. 

 

“I have to inject more [investments] for human development. I need to put more money into health, education, and supporting the economic sectors to bring the growth rate back, we are expecting to finish this financial year with a real growth rate of 2.8, which is not suitable for Egypt. We need to grow at 6 to 7%,” Maait said during the talks.