The Nile Pioneers Initiative announced the launch of a new training programme that will run for a period of six months to support the export capabilities of emerging, small, and medium-sized companies working in chemical industries. This will be done in partnership with the Export Council of Chemical and Fertiliser Industries and under the auspices of Banque du Caire. The Nile Pioneers is one of the initiatives of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) that is being implemented by the National Nile University in cooperation with a number of agencies and banks. Tarek Fayed — Chairperson and CEO of Banque du Caire — said that the programme aims to help emerging, small, and medium-sized companies in chemical industries develop their products, increase their competitiveness and marketing capabilities, and open new international markets, in addition to supporting the digital transformation of these companies. Fayed also stressed the importance of the initiative in developing the capabilities of young entrepreneurs, encouraging local industry and technology, and expanding digital applications to support various sectors, helping to meet the needs of the Egyptian market and increase job opportunities. Nader Saad — Head of the Small and Medium Enterprises Group at Banque du Caire — explained that Banque du Caire's participation in the Nile Pioneers Initiative comes within the framework of the bank's role in supporting small and medium enterprises, encouraging young people to establish successful projects, and supporting small enterprises in the informal sector through financial and technical consultations. For her part, Heba Labib — Executive Director of the Nile Pioneers Initiative — said that the initiative attaches special importance to the process of supporting the capabilities of emerging, small, and medium Egyptian companies to export and open new international markets in many industrial sectors through the Centre of Excellence for Export of the initiative, which has been sponsored by Banque du Caire since its launch in 2019. She added that supporting the export capabilities of Egyptian companies is becoming increasingly important in the current period in light of the conditions the world is witnessing — shortages in products and commodities and the disruption of supply chains — which led to a significant rise in prices and waves of inflation that harmed the global economy, which is a good opportunity for companies to take advantage of these conditions by increasing their exports abroad as well as breaking into new markets. She emphasised that the trend towards exports is in line with the state's strategy and the various initiatives it launched — whether through the CBE or other parties — to deepen local industrialisation and thus increase exports, which will improve the trade balance and increase state revenues from foreign currency. Furthermore, Labib praised the great role played by Banque du Caire by sponsoring the Centres of Excellence for Export Programme in the initiative, which achieved great successes that helped bring the sales of companies that benefited from the programme to more than EGP 120m by the end of last year. For his part, Khaled Abu Al-Makarem — Chairperson of the Export Council for Chemical Industries and Fertilisers — said that the cooperation with the Centre of Excellence for Export and the sponsorship of Banque du Caire comes from the primary role of the council to provide mechanisms and programmes that stimulate the development of the sector's exports. He also stressed that this cooperation aims to achieve real and sustainable development for the companies participating in the programme and to bring about a real qualitative leap that guarantees continuity and the ability to deal with internal and external changes and challenges and enhance their manufacturing and production capabilities along with their readiness for export. Additionally, Mohamed Al-Katatni — Director of the Centres of Excellence Programme for Exporting at the Nile Pioneers Initiative — said that it is possible to apply for the programme through the initiative's website, noting that the programme is divided into two phases. The first phase involves raising awareness and educating advanced companies, while the second phase focuses on working with companies through customised programmes according to their individual needs. He added that the programme will help companies have an electronic presence on international trade platforms and e-commerce sites by creating their own websites and introducing them to electronic marketing mechanisms locally and internationally, as well as working to develop their products and increase their competitive capabilities to support them in export markets.
