Dr. Nasr : "The President always supports
youth initiatives and periodically meets with them"
On the sidelines of her participation at the
World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa "Davos" held
at the Dead Sea in Jordan, the Minister of Investment and International
Cooperation Dr. Sahar Nasr gave an overview of Egypt's experience in
entrepreneurship at a session on the impact of startups on the society ...
The Minister
emphasized that supporting startups was one of MIIC's pivotal roles with the
aim to achieve economic development, provide job opportunities and support the
private sector, while noting that high employment rates, especially among youth
and women, was a challenge facing the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA).
The Minister indicated
that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi supported youth economic empowerment and
was keen on meeting with them periodically and on learning about their
initiatives and problems through the National Youth Conference (NYC).
Further, the Minister
referred to the efforts of the government and the private sector in supporting
small enterprises and startups, given that MIIC established "Egypt Company
for Entrepreneurship and Investment" to support direct and indirect
investments in startups, entrepreneurship and small enterprises with a capital
of EGP 451 million. The Company also aimed at investing in business incubators,
venture capital funds and various companies to support growth and economic
development in Egypt.
According to the
Minister, the Company would contribute to bridging the financing gap of
startups through providing funds in order to directly or indirectly contribute
to the capital of such companies. This could be achieved through
entrepreneurship incubators or venture capital funds, which would have a
positive impact on supporting startups and on pushing them towards growth. The
Minister emphasized that the Company was meant to attract foreign and local
investment, make joint investments with the private sector, maximize
opportunities of startups for global competition, create competitive
environment, and provide better services of high quality at lower costs, which
would improve the services provided by major companies and, in turn, affect
citizens positively.
The New Investment Law
would support SMEs and startups, which provide youth with job opportunities,
indicated the Minister. She also mentioned that MIIC worked with the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) to support SMEs. She further pointed out that MIIC
was keen on presenting Egyptian success stories to all international financial
institutions, while noting that the government's main goal was to improve
standards of living.
Startups, as
reiterated by Dr. Nasr, would contribute to changing the society through a
number of successful projects that solve many social problems. As a case in
point, the government recently approved a draft law for regulating "Uber
and Careem" transportation services with a view to provide better services
to citizens according to the law. The Minister explained that the role of
the government was to eliminate bureaucracy and any obstacles facing investors
and startups, noting that the law was submitted to the parliament to set a
relevant legislative framework in preparation for its approval.
In addition, the
Minister pointed out that successful projects would contribute to creating
common values in the society. She added that investors sought to finance
companies that would contribute to changing the society positively and to
achieving material rewards. As mentioned by the Minister, the success of
startups in effecting social change would be measured in the long term through
measuring tangible results and their impact. For instance, Solaris Egypt, a
solar power company, could implement over 40 solar projects nationwide with
total capacities of 110 KW.
The Minister also
clarified that startups would not pay off and would not obtain funds or capital
without investors.
The Minister of Trade
and Industry referred to the significance of encouraging major companies to
support youth through innovative mechanisms.
On her part, Ms.
Hammami asserted that it was essential that the government would provide the
necessary legislations that would contribute to creating a climate that
supports companies and startups.
A discussion took place between the Minister and a number of
youth in the Middle East and North Africa. They tackled the best practices of
startups and their success factors as well as the achievement of financial
inclusion.
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