The EU supports utilising innovation—a major driver of competitiveness—to enable Egyptian industrial companies to position themselves better, and reach export markets through funding the Engineering Export Council of Egypt (EEC). The EEC has taken an initiative to qualify Egyptian engineering companies to export to the European market, through its project ‘Enabling Egyptian Exports by Technology-Transfer Driven Product Innovation' (EEPI). The EU has allocated a grant of €950,000 for this project, to be implemented over a period of 18 months. The EU-funded EEPI project will help Egyptian companies through their export journey to Europe, by fostering their capacity to innovate in their products, in order to meet the European markets' requirements. To achieve this aim, the project will assess the European market's needs, and identify concrete export opportunities for Egyptian products. The project endeavours to be a success story in bringing Egyptian products much closer to a sustained international presence, through innovation and product adaptation, an onward and upward path for Egypt's engineering industry, towards global competitiveness. Companies will then be supported in developing innovative business and product concepts, and commercialising these products in the European market, through business matchmaking with European partners. To ensure that the desired impact is realised, the project brings together experts from diverse entities, best positioned to deliver the needed support. The EEC will collaborate with Innovety LLC – an Egyptian leading innovation consulting company, the Italian consortium ARCA, and Globally Cool from the Netherlands. The EU-funded EEPI project is being launched today through a conference, under the auspices of the minister of trade and industry, and the EU's ambassador to Egypt, along with many representatives from the industrial community, as well as local and international partners.
