The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEs Development Agency) has financed over 11,000 micro and small enterprises in Fayoum in different industrial, agricultural, and service fields since the beginning of the year until the end of September. The value of these finances amounts to EGP 178m, according to head of the agency Niven Gamea.
Gamea said that the agency has also provided grants for 25 projects in community and human development and public works worth EGP 31m. This boosts the total funds offered by the agency in Fayoum governorate in the first nine months to EGP 20.5m, which provided thousands of permanent and temporary jobs for the people of the governorate.
Gamea stressed that the agency pays great attention to small and micro enterprises operating in traditional and handicraft industries such as ceramics and pottery, because these distinctive art industries have a promising market abroad.
“The continuation of these industries and the expansion of their financing has an important cultural dimension, where it helps to preserve the Egyptian identity and artistic heritage from extinction, along with economic importance in providing job opportunities for young girls and men, and to spread these products in international markets,” Gamea said.
This came during the participation of Gamea in the opening of the Tunis Village Pottery Festival, which was held on the sidelines of a large exhibition of handicraft products. The agency has participated in the event represented by several projects that were financed by it.
During the opening of the festival, the foundation stone was laid for a factory for the rehabilitation and processing of ceramics and pottery products, for which Fayoum governorate has allocated 1,000 square metres. The agency is looking to finance its production lines for the association of potters of Tunis Village.
Gamea noted that funding this plant comes within the framework of the preparation of the national strategy for the development of production clusters, through the project of development of natural production groupings financed through the African Development Bank.
The village of Tunis in Fayoum was chosen as one of the important gatherings in the ceramic products industry.
The project aims to reduce production costs and improve the quality of materials used, affecting the competitive prices of products.
