The Medium, Small and Micro Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) and Misr El Kheir Foundation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish new business incubators and launch programmes to raise the capabilities of young people and entrepreneurs nationwide, especially in Upper Egypt. Tarek Shash, Executive Vice President of MSMEDA, said that the agency is coordinating with various concerned authorities to spread the idea and culture of self-employment among citizens, especially in the governorates of Upper Egypt. This is to help them develop their skills so that they can set up new small businesses or expand their existing projects by using the natural resources available in these governorates and exploiting them appropriately to provide well-made Egyptian products that meet the needs of their local communities. Shash added that MSMEDA is currently cooperating with 23 public and private universities, as well as the Academy of Scientific Research and a number of ministries such as higher education, scientific research, education, technical education, youth, sports, manpower and other ministries and civil society organizations to implement free training programs that benefit thousands of citizens, especially young men and women, in various governorates. Mre than 7,000 young people benefited from these courses since the beginning of the year until October. Raafat Abbas, head of the central sector for non-financial services at the Agency, stated that signing a MoU with the Misr El Kheir is the first cooperation of its kind between the agency and civil society institutions to spread the concept of self-employment, noting that in cooperation, it is possible to expand geographically in terms of various aspects of technical support to develop citizens' skills in various governorates, especially in Upper Egypt. Abbas added that integrated training programs will be implemented during which participants will be familiarized with the foundations of establishing small enterprises and how to prepare feasibility studies and work plans, which will ensure the success and continuity of their businesses, in addition to developing the capabilities and skills of professionals that provide these training courses, and implementing programs to link and integrate innovation-based projects in supply chains, as well as programs to develop the skills of entrepreneurs and help them market their products locally and globally. Mohamed Abdel Rahman, Deputy Managing Director of the Misr El Kheir, said that this cooperation is an expression of the consistency of the vision of the Misr El Kheir Foundation and MSMEDA regarding the aspect of investing in people and supporting the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy, depending on the provision of an appropriate environment to provide support for enterprises, especially financial services. For his part, Saber Hassan, Head of the Education Sector at Misr El Kheir Foundation, said that the MoU supports the construction of business incubators in the governorates of Egypt and lays a foundation that ensures the sustainability of its services for various projects, pointing out that the Misr El Kheir Foundation is working to train and qualify cadres in partner NGOs and provide them with support on an ongoing basis, to implement programmes in a flexible and rapid manner.
