Basel Rahmi, CEO of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), announced that the agency has financed projects valued at EGP 8bn from January 2023 to the end of June 2024. This funding has generated 397,400 job opportunities and supported 195,600 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
During a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Monday, Rahmi underscored the agency’s commitment to fulfilling its financial obligations on time, emphasising MSMEDA’s role as a reliable financial institution within Egypt’s economic framework.
Rahmi detailed the agency’s non-financial services, noting that it has provided entrepreneurship training to over 17,000 trainees, issued more than 15,000 temporary licences for new projects, connected 389 projects through supply chains, and assisted in obtaining 4,721 tax cards and 696 commercial registrations. Additionally, the agency facilitated 433 business-to-business (B2B) integration deals.
MSMEDA organised 215 domestic exhibitions, benefiting around 4,618 exhibitors, and 12 international exhibitions, benefiting 90 exhibitors. Since its inception in 2019, the “Our Heritage” exhibition has provided contractual and sales opportunities worth approximately EGP 428.8m to over 4,886 exhibitors over five years.
In terms of community and human development, MSMEDA has provided over 529,000 man-days of work, funded projects worth EGP 185m, and employed 3,253 young men and women.
Rahmi reviewed MSMEDA’s contributions to the national initiative “Ebda” (Start) for developing Egyptian industry. He highlighted the signing of a cooperation protocol between MSMEDA and the “Ebda” company in April 2021 to offer required services to the initiative’s clients through the agency’s branches. Daily communication with project owners to present MSMEDA’s services is ongoing.
Under this initiative, MSMEDA visited 1,960 projects and provided funding for 35 projects worth EGP 38.2m, with financing for 10 projects worth EGP 23m in progress. The agency has also delivered 72 non-financial services, issued 12 final licences, and 118 classification certificates.
Regarding the “Entlaq” (Launch) initiative, Rahmi stated that coordination is underway to sign a cooperation protocol between MSMEDA and “Entlaq” to raise awareness among entrepreneurs and startups about incentives and facilities under Law No. 152. The initiative aims to evaluate and propose amendments to the law’s provisions concerning entrepreneurship and startups, prepare a user-friendly report mapping government services, and release a semi-annual diagnostic report on Egypt’s entrepreneurship sector.
In the national project to convert vehicles to run on natural gas, Rahmi revealed that from January 2021 to June 2024, MSMEDA financed the conversion of over 70,000 vehicles at a cost of EGP 602.5m. This represents 40% of the total converted vehicles in Egypt during the same period. The agency also contributed to converting the cities of Luxor, Sharm El-Sheikh, and Hurghada to green cities in collaboration with “Car Gas” and “Gastec,” converting 1,798 vehicles to natural gas.
Furthermore, MSMEDA is finalising the national strategy for developing handicrafts and heritage industries in collaboration with the French Development Agency, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Culture. The agency is also working on the national strategy for integrating the informal sector into the formal economy and reviving the Arab Union for Small Enterprises in coordination with the Arab League and the Council of Arab Economic Unity.
Prime Minister Madbouly directed the provision of necessary funding to assist farmers in converting sugarcane cultivation to modern irrigation systems instead of traditional flood irrigation. This aligns with MSMEDA’s focus on Upper Egypt and agricultural and production projects.
