Nevine Gamea, Executive Director of the Micro, Small, and Medium, Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), said that the agency is keen on implementing the state’s directives to develop the productivity and capabilities of small projects, to cover the needs of the local market and seize export opportunities.
She pointed out that the Authority is working to implement an ambitious strategy to market the products of small business owners abroad, through cooperating with many major global trading platforms and benefiting from their experiences and capabilities to export youth-made products electronically or in international exhibition participation.
This was mentioned during her speech at the signing event of the “Export Step Training Project” agreement, which is implemented in cooperation between MSMEDA, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), and the Foreign Trade Training Center (FTTC) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, under the auspices of the League of Arab States.
Gamea said that the signed partnership agreement came within the framework of MSMEDA’s keenness to implement the state’s plan and the political leadership’s directives to increase Egyptian exports rates, as well as cooperate and coordinate with all concerned institutions to support SMEs.
She explained that coordination was established between MSMEDA and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, represented by the FTTC, with the aim of implementing a program to train and qualify 600 owners of existing or new MSMEs who wish to move towards export and already have a competitive product with a real global need for. The focus would be on agricultural products with funding provided by the ITFC. It aims to create a new generation of exporters and develop the competitiveness of Egyptian products in global markets, by providing a distinguished product with quality and competitiveness, and the consequent increase in productivity and capacity for operation.
Gamea added that another partnership agreement will be signed with the ITFC to train and qualify 50 women owners of small, handicraft and heritage projects, who participated in the activities of the Heritage Exhibition for handicrafts and heritage, in order to develop their products and enhance their ability to compete in foreign markets, by training them in marketing skills, product photography, negotiation skills and creating brands, as well as providing them with the necessary funds for expansion and development, in addition to helping them join the formal sector.
Gamea indicated that signing agreements and protocols with international bodies aims to enhance the capabilities of the Authority, implement the axes of the National Program for the Development, and create the necessary climate to encourage them, as well as motivate citizens to enter the labor market through these projects, and spread a culture of entrepreneurship, research, creativity and innovation.
