Egypt’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) has allocated EGP 76m of financing to youth training programmes in 11 governorates, according to Minister of Trade and Industry, and MSMEDA Executive Director Nevine Gamea.
MSMEDA is coordinating efforts with various state agencies to offer adequate and appropriate alternatives to fight the phenomena of irregular migration, Gamea said.
She also said that the agency is currently implementing training programmes for youth in 11 governorates with special emphasis on Upper Egypt, under a financing agreement to address the Root Causes of Irregular Migration funded by the EU.
The minister added that such training programmes assist youth to develop and acquire new skills based on market needs and encourage them to start new small enterprises.
Gamea’s statement came as four contracts were signed between MSMEDA and four non-government organisations (NGOs) from Minya governorate. The agreements activate the move towards addressing the Root Causes of Irregular Migration funded by the EU.
Tarek Shash, Deputy Executive Director at MSMEDA, witnessed the agreements’ signing, which was conducted by Medhat Massoud, Head of Human and Community Development Central Sector at MSMEDA, along with the Heads of the Board of Directors at the NGOs.
Shash said that more than 1,000 youth from the Deir Moas and Malawy towns in Minya governorate will benefit from the training programmes in a range of segments.
These include: entrepreneurship awareness; handicrafts; carpentry; surveillance camera installation and maintenance; photocopying; wall painting; waste recycling; and leather manufacturing.
He added that these programmes have been developed based on market needs and requirements, and that it is planned that 600 job opportunities would be provided for the youth after successfully completing the training.
Massoud said that these training programmes target youth in the 18-29 age group to assist them in developing their skills to obtain better and decent jobs, hence achieving economic empowerment.
He added that these training programmes are being implemented under the third component of the Agreement to address the Root Causes of Irregular Migration funded by the EU to train youth on handicraft skills to fulfil market demands.
The agreement to address the root causes of irregular migration through Employability and Labor-Intensive Works (ELIW) was signed between MSMEDA and the EU in the form of a grant worth €27m.
The targeting and selection of participating governorates was undertaken according to the results of the study done by the National Coordinating Committee on Preventing Illegal Migration and Combatting and Preventing Trafficking in Persons (NCCPIM&TIP).
It was conducted with the aim of implementing labour intensive infrastructure and community development projects in 11 governorates namely: Luxor; Assiut; Minya; Fayoum; Qaliubiya; Menoufiya; Gharbeya; Sharqeya; Beheira; Daqahleya; and Kafr El Sheikh.
