Egypt's Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, announced on Tuesday that the disbursement of EGP 8 billion for the beneficiaries of the seventh stage of the Export-It Programme's immediate cash payment initiative will be fast-tracked to start on June 6. This is in addition to the previously scheduled payment dates of June 27, 2024, and August 8, 2024. Companies that have submitted their documents by June 30, 2023, will receive payments under the previously established criteria. A discount rate of 15% will be applied to shipments made until June 30, 2021, and a rate of 8% will be applied to shipments from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022. No discount will be applied to shipments made from July 1, 2022, onwards. Maait made it clear that the clearance process will cover both the dues related to export support and the state's dues, which include taxes, customs, electricity, and natural gas. The minister stated, "We are keen to finance programmes that stimulate economic activity, especially supporting the industrial and export sectors, among other initiatives, in the next fiscal year's budget, with a total of EGP 40.5 billion, including EGP 23 billion to continue the rapid settlement of export burdens." He also mentioned that, since the launch of the late payment settlement initiatives with the Export Development Fund in October 2019, the government has provided approximately EGP 55 billion in support to exporters over the past four years. This is in addition to the EGP 8 billion that is scheduled to be disbursed. Nevine Mansour, Advisor to the Deputy Minister for Financial Policies and Institutional Development, stated that the seventh stage of the immediate cash payment initiative to support exporters witnessed a significant turnout, where 2500 exporting companies filed their applications to the Ministry of Finance since the opening of applications on March 10 until May 9. She noted that export support payments are disbursed through the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, and the Export Development Bank. The export support programme, Export-IT, encourages Egyptian companies of all sizes to boost exports, develop resources, reduce export-related costs, and tackle economic challenges, enhancing global competitiveness. Integral to ITIDA's strategy, it has supported over 290 local firms since its 2010 launch. The latest cycle focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises to drive growth and expand global market presence.
