Nabila Makram, Minister of State for Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates’ Affairs, has met with young Egyptian and African entrepreneurs to discuss ways to foster cooperation with African countries.
The meeting comes in line with the recommendation of the World Youth Forum (WYF) to establish an Africa Enterprise Business Council that brings together young entrepreneurs.
Makram also reviewed her ministry’s efforts in communicating with Egyptians abroad as well as efforts made to attract Egyptian businessmen abroad to invest in Egypt and involve them in presidential initiatives.
The minister asserted Egypt’s keenness to cooperate with African countries within the presidential vision to cooperate within the African continent economically, commercially, and industrially.
In this regard, the minister addressed the ‘Egypt’s Voice in Africa Iinitiative’, which was launched by the ministry in order to sustain communication with the Egyptian communities in Africa and to make the best use of Egyptian soft powers.
Makram stressed that this meeting is very important because it achieves communication between Egyptians abroad and African investors in order to enhance bilateral cooperation.
She referred to the recommendation of the WYF to call for the establishment of the Africa Enterprise Council, which brings together young entrepreneurs and businessmen with the aim of providing and linking youths’ ideas and innovations to financing opportunities.
Dina Sherif, the Executive Director of the Lagatum Centre affiliated with the American University of MIT, asserted that this meeting aims to open new opportunities for cooperation between African entrepreneurs and their Egyptian counterparts and encourage them to learn and invest in Egypt.
She explained that the MIT fellowship group consists of African entrepreneurs that aim to build a stronger environment for entrepreneurial activity and innovation.
The delegation also held different meetings with private sector companies and decision and policy makers for the entrepreneurship environment in order to deepen relations between entrepreneurs and study ways of cooperation to create jobs.
Furthermore, future steps have been suggested to encourage investment in Egypt, such as the possibility of issuing a visa for entrepreneurs and encouraging Egyptian entrepreneurs to visit other African countries to lay the foundations for cooperation and create promising investment opportunities.
