One of Egypt's biggest institutional initiatives, Partnership for Development is launching Tuesday its third conference entitled "Leasing: A Catalyst promoting national projects and SMEs". Under the auspices of a number of ministries and competent organisations, including the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA), the conference will take place within the framework of the Egyptian authorities' schemes to fund mega and SME development projects. The event aims to tackle the leasing sector's importance as one of the most effective and capable funding mechanisms that would fulfill the financial needs of all the projects in Egypt, whether for corporate or SMEs. Local and regional officials as well as representatives of banking and international funding institutions will take part in the event. Additionally, the following sectors will be also present at the conference: industry, trade, transport, housing, communications and Information Technology, energy, and construction will also participate in the event. Participants are set to reach a vision aiming to present leasing as a more flexible funding solution to support and encourage plans and sustainable growth for all the economic sectors in Egypt. They will also discuss means to remove all the administrative, legal, regulatory, and tax obstacles hindering this vital funding mechanism to perform its role. Sherif Samy – Chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) – referred to a recent remarkable growing demand for the firms that are specialised in providing flexible financing leasing services. He said the leasing sector has registered a significant growth of 227 percent during the first seven months of the current year, with contracts worth 11.3 billion Egyptian pounds, noting that 25 active firms are currently working in the field. He asserted that the conference will take place in a very crucial time in order to enhance the growth of the leasing sector through holding active and serious transparent discussions between competent authorities in the shadows of the Egyptian economy's urgent need of for unconventional funding tools. Furthermore, the conference will highlight the role of leasing activity in supporting the implementation of the national projects - announced by the government - through providing necessary finance for contracting firms working in different sectors. The Partnership for Development Initiative is the first of its kind in Egypt aiming to bolster a sustainable partnership between the private sector, the state, the civil society, and mass media. This initiative holds a number of conferences and workshops annually to devise a position paper that plays a prominent role in identifying the government's policies related to economy, legislation, laws, and measures to reform business climate in Egypt. It aims to reach a strategic vision for the shape of partnership between the government and the private sector in order to achieve comprehensive development goals. The Partnership for Development Initiative held its first series of conferences on April 19th, 2015; it aimed to reveal the details of the Egyptian Economic Development Conference's real estate agreements.
