On behalf of the German government, GIZ Egypt launched the Job Partnerships and SME Promotion (JP-SME) project in Egypt jointly with its valued partners this week. The JP-SME project is part of the Global Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation (SI Jobs) also implemented in Ethiopia, Morocco, Tunisia, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, and Rwanda. Commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the JP-SME is jointly implemented by GIZ and the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry. The focus of the project is to create jobs and employment opportunities in Egypt in cooperation with Egyptian and international public and private partners until December 2025. Holger Illi — Head of the German Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Cairo — held an opening speech followed by a keynote on the vision for industrial development and jobs in Egypt by Amr Hazzaa — Commercial Minister Plenipotentiary and Adviser to the Minister of Trade and Industry and Head of Developmental Projects Unit (DPU) at the Ministry. During the launch event, the overarching approach and targets of the project for the coming years were introduced to a wide audience by Elvira Kanichay — Head of the JP-SME at GIZ Egypt. Also, high-level speakers from Siemens Mobility, the Commercial International Bank (CIB), Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC), and the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK) jointly zoomed in on an interactive panel discussion on the future of jobs and employment trends in Egypt from a private sector labour demand-oriented perspective.
