Hisham Amna, Egypt’s minister of Local Development, announced that his ministry is offering full support to finance micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the governorates. He also highlighted the launch of initiatives to fund small investors through the Local Development Fund and the “Mashrou’ak” program.
Amna provided details on the funding efforts, stating that 211,000 projects were financed through the program, amounting to an estimated cost of EGP28.3 billion ($590 million) . Additionally, the Local Development Fund funded around 30,000 projects with EGP229 million ($4.77 million), including projects focused on agricultural industrialization in villages.
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These statements were made during the Minister of Local Development’s participation in the Senate’s plenary session, chaired by Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Razek. The session was attended by Alaa Fouad, minister of Parliamentary Affairs, representatives and members of the Council, as well as various leaders within the Ministry of Local Development.
During the session, the Minister emphasized the encouragement of investment and private sector activities in agricultural industrialization. This was achieved through the development of 341 fixed technological centers and 50 mobile centers. Furthermore, reforms were implemented to streamline shop licensing and building permit procedures, reducing waiting times and simplifying processes.
Amna highlighted the implementation of smart digital transformation systems and procedural guidelines to enhance service delivery in the governorates. These reforms aimed to support local leaders and officials in dealing with the systems efficiently.
Strengthening technological centers in governorates
Egypt’s Minister also mentioned the establishment of follow-up committees for the technological centers in the governorates, which provide technical support. The performance of the services offered is regularly evaluated and monitored by the technology centers’ follow-up team and the inspection sector of the Ministry of Local Development, which conducts field visits.
Electronic services were made available through dedicated portals, benefiting a total of 77,411 individuals nationwide. Government services complexes were developed as part of the Haya Karema initiative, comprising a total of 332 complexes providing various government services.
In addition, international methodologies were applied to develop agricultural blocs based on value chains, from production to marketing. These blocs were connected to industrial zones, with a focus on enhancing infrastructure efficiency, providing business development services, supporting successful agricultural industrialization projects, and increasing the added value of agricultural crops.
Developing economic blocs
The Minister introduced the concept of economic blocs and developed a comprehensive guide for their development, incorporating lessons learned from pilot applications in twelve blocs. To ensure the sustainability of the economic bloc development policy, a special program for local economic development was established within the local development programs, aiming to attract local investments.
Egypt’s government adopted a methodology for developing economic blocs and incorporated it into its policies, involving relevant authorities, such as the Industrial Modernization Center. Amna concluded by mentioning the ministry’s networking efforts with electronic marketing platforms and participation in exhibitions like Food Africa, benefiting 710 individuals involved in various agricultural fields in Upper Egypt governorates.
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