The Ministry of Local Development outlined a new action plan for Mashroak (your business) program from 2024/25 to 2026/27 to support youth entrepreneurs and provide them with easy loans to start their own businesses and support the national economy.
According to the Minister of Local Development, Manal Awad, the ministry aims to empower the economy and support small and micro enterprises by financing over 6,500 projects.
The Mashroak program was launched in 2015 to finance small businesses. Operated in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and six banks, the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr (Bank of Egypt), Banque du Caire (Bank of Cairo), the Housing and Development Bank (HDB), the Egyptian Agricultural Bank (EAB), and Bank of Alexandria (AlexBank), the project is planned to continue until 2030.
Mashroak focuses on financing micro, small, and medium enterprises to create job opportunities for youth through a national initiative for local and community development; it also targets micro-projects, designed to generate employment for both young people and women, via the local development fund administered by the Ministry.
The launch of small businesses across Egypt holds the potential to transform local economies, offering new job prospects to young people in rural villages, urban neighborhoods, and bustling cities.
According to the World Bank, small and medium enterprises play a major role in the global economy, especially in developing nations, as they constitute around 90 percent of the global enterprise ecosystem. They also account for over half of global employment and contribute up to 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in emerging economies.
In 2022, Mashroak program financed 172,000 projects with a total investment of EGP 18.5 billion (USD ), creating one million jobs. Currently, the Ministry of Local Development’s Fund is set to support over 5,700 projects, a move projected to generate upwards of 500,000 jobs across various governorates, promising to drive sustainable development, curb rural-to-urban migration, and elevate living standards.
These endeavors will also strengthen 90 craft and agricultural clusters in underserved regions, in partnership with the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency. Additionally, it is designed to target critical sectors including agriculture, industry, and tourism.
Some of the key measures of the project are the facilitation and incentivization of investment within industrial zones, the regulation of informal industrial areas, the resolution of issues affecting industrial zones, the completion of detailed plans for these zones, an expansion of support for agricultural manufacturing, and the promotion of rural tourism.
During a meeting on 12 July, Awad highlighted the ministry’s dedication to supporting inter-ministerial efforts to build a dynamic local economy that could attract investment and amplify private sector engagement in regional economic initiatives.
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