Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry and Executive Director of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), Nevine Gamea, has confirmed that the agency has channelled EGP 13.4m into projects in Fayoum and Minya.
Gamea added that the agency is also paying great attention to the state’s plans to develop Upper Egypt, and is working to coordinate with various governorates in the region to implement an integrated package of development services in the villages most in need.
She said that MSMEDA is working to expand the provision of financing and training services to Upper Egypt, to encourage its residents to take up self-employment and establish projects that provide them and others with stable and successful job opportunities.
These statements came on the sidelines of a visit to Upper Egypt by a MSMEDA delegation, during which 28 contracts were signed with a number of NGOs in Fayoum and Minya. The contracts aim to address irregular migration in coordination with the various ministries concerned, and with funding from the European Union (EU).
Eleven contracts were signed with NGOs in Fayoum governorate, worth a total funding of EGP 14.9m. These will provide about 500 job opportunities and more than 182,000 operating days during the implementation of these projects. A further 17 contracts were signed for Minya governorate, with a total financing of EGP 17m and which will provide 325,677 operating days.
The agency has also signed five contracts with NGOs providing micro-financing, with the aim of expanding the provision of the necessary financing for micro-projects in both governorates. This includes two contracts in Fayoum with a value of EGP 2.7m, one of which is being implemented in cooperation with the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development. The second is to be implemented within the initiative project for financing micro projects financed by the World Bank.
Three additional contracts were signed in Minya governorate, at a value of EGP 2.8m, to be implemented within the initiative’s microfinance project, funded by the World Bank.
MSMEDA Deputy Executive Director Tarek Shash said that these visits aim at boosting cooperation with various governorates to study and identify investment opportunities and exploit them in an appropriate manner. These will take place according to the needs and available resources available of each governorate.
