The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSME) has implemented some 227,000 small and micro projects in Beheira governorate, providing about 305,000 job opportunities, according to MSME Executive Director Nevine Gamea.
She added that the amount of funding directed to these projects amounted to about EGP 1.929bn, in addition to a grant worth EGP 250m for the implementation of labour-intensive infrastructure projects in addition to human and community development projects in the governorate, noting that these projects provided about 35,000 jobs opportunities.
According to Gamea, in 2017, MSME injected EGP 215m to fund around 14,000 small and micro enterprises (SMEs), which provided about 19,000 job opportunities, in addition to providing EGP 24m for training and community development projects.
MSME officials, lead by Gamea, had visited Beheira governorate two days ago, in the framework of the visits carried out by MSME to various governorates in Egypt to activate joint activities, promote SMEs, and open new channels of cooperation between the agency and governorates with the ultimate aim of serving citizens, reducing unemployment rates, and raising the standard of living.
During the visit, the delegation met with Beheira Governor Nadia Abdou where they discussed aspects of cooperation and defining a general framework for the strategy of supporting and developing SMEs in the governorate. The aim is to facilitate the necessary procedures for citizens wishing to establish small projects.
Additionally, both Gamea and Abdou inaugurated the Youth Conference, during which all the financial and non-financial services offered by MSME were presented to support the SMEs sector in order to encourage youth entrepreneurship and SMEs that provide them with job opportunities and improve their social and economic conditions.
During the visit, Gamea signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the governorate of Beheira, aiming at cooperating with the authority and the governorate in providing transportation for workers and employees from villages and districts to the various companies and factories in the reclaimed areas due to their importance.
It was agreed that the authority will provide the necessary funding for young people to establish these projects, through a public lottery in case the number of applicants exceeds the required number, while governorate authorities will facilitate the assistance of beneficiaries in obtaining licenses for cars owned by enterprises through cooperation with the Traffic Department in the governorate.
A protocol of understanding has been signed between MSME and Beheira governorate and The International Company for Agro Industrial Projects (Beyti) for the operation of El-Kasseeb Project, which aims to provide new job opportunities through the purchase of 20 distribution vehicles with cooling boxes, training citizens on various sales and distribution methods, and ways to employ promotion campaigns and offers.
The second stage will start in all governorates after the success of the first phase in Alexandria and Beheira to ensure that they achieve the desired goals and targets.
During the visit, a contract was signed between MSME and the Badr Association for Local Community Development in Badr village in Beheira, in order to finance SMEs with EGP 2m for village citizens.
According to Gamea, the strategy of the authority is to encourage the establishment of small enterprises, through various facilitations and various financing advantages that suit various types of projects, as well as non-financial services including the marketing, training, and rehabilitation of young people for employment.
