CAIRO - 29 May 2024: Bassel Rahmy, the CEO of the The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), emphasized the importance of the SME sector, which represents more than 80 percent of the Egyptian economy and provides employment opportunities for millions of citizens, including young graduates.
MSMEDA is currently working with various state institutions to implement the Small Enterprise Development Law. The law provides a set of incentives and benefits to support and launch these projects so that they play a fundamental role in advancing economic development processes and providing job opportunities for youth.
As part of the ongoing efforts, the agency has taken further steps to encourage project owners to transition from the informal to the formal sector. In coordination with the National Authority for Social Insurance, it was agreed that project owners who regularize their status will not be required to pay any subscriptions except from the date of obtaining their licenses.
The agency has also streamlined the networking procedures between its branches and the Insurance Authority to facilitate project owners in obtaining the necessary social insurance documents. The authority's representatives are now present in 22 branches of the agency across the governorates.
Additionally, the agency is helping project owners participate in government contracts by coordinating with the General Authority for Government Services. This includes allocating 20 percent of government contracts to medium-sized projects and 20 percent to small and micro projects.
The agency has also worked to ensure that the technical specifications take into account the potential and capabilities of these projects, and have exempted their owners from submitting work history and budgets for previous years, as long as the nature of the process does not require it.
MSMEDA is also partnering with the Competitiveness Program for the Middle East and North Africa, which is affiliated with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to host a meeting for the Small Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Policies Working Group in the region.
The theme of the event is "Empowering Small Enterprises in the Middle East and North Africa" and it will focus on digitization, green transition, financing availability, and formal sector transition. Co-chaired by Tunisia and Italy, this working group aims to improve policies for small enterprises and entrepreneurship in Egypt.
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