Egypt's state-owned National Investment Bank (NIB) will contribute 250 million Egyptian pounds (around US$35 million) to the capital of a start-up incubator Ayady. Ayady Company for Investment and Development has been founded, with the aim of offering 500.000 proven job opportunities in the SME sector for Egyptian youth across the country. NIB's contribution represents 12.5% of the issued capital of the newly-founded Ayady Company for Investment and Development, the bank's board member Momtaz al-Saeed stated. Speaking to Amwal Al Ghad on Sunday, al-Saeed said the final list of the main shareholders in Ayady Company is not ready yet, referring to ongoing negotiations aiming to receive contributions from more banks. Only Faisal Islamic Bank and Arab Investment Bank (AIB Egypt) had So far confirmed their participation in Ayady's capital, he noted. In earlier statement to Amwal Al Ghad, Hani Seif El-Nasr - Arab Investment Bank (AIB Egypt)'s Chairman – announced his bank's initial contribution of up to 5% to Ayady's capital. On December 16th, Ayady Company for Investment and Development has been launched, seeking to create 500.000 proven job opportunities for Egyptian youth across the country in fields of developmental and small and medium-sized projects. Under the rubric "Let's Work", the company has been founded with an initial capital of 10 billion pounds (US$1.4 billion), of which 20% is a government contribution and 80% is from the private sector. Ayady aims to stimulate local development and boost employment in Egypt's governorates. Following the launch of Ayady, Egyptian Minister of Planning Ashraf Al-Araby pointed out that the new company would provide training, feasibility studies, funding and export opportunities to young entrepreneurs, to act as an "incubator" for nascent projects, with an on-the-ground presence in Egypt's 27 governorates. The Egyptian minister also revealed the stakeholders in Ayady include the National Investment Bank, Arab Investment Bank, Faisal Islamic Bank, Egyptian Awqaf Authority, Long Live Egypt Fund, and Social Fund for Development (SFD), in addition to civil society organisation Misr El Kheir Foundation. Private backers include the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), Egyptian Junior Businessmen Association, and the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce.
