Minister of Local Development Hisham Amna said on Sunday that the National Programme for Community, Human, and Local Development, 'Your Project' (Mashrouak) has contributed since its inception to the implementation of more than 200,000 projects with loans amounting to about EGP 25.6bn. He pointed out that these projects have provided about two million job opportunities. He added that Mashrouak supports comprehensive development in all governorates, starting from villages and hamlets to centres, cities, and neighbourhoods through the implementation of medium and small enterprises that transform the Egyptian village from a consuming community to a productive one, improve the quality of life for its residents, and put young people on the right path to form a new generation of young investors. Amna also said that he pays great attention to the advancement of the SMEs sector by creating the appropriate financing and climate for its growth and development and establishing thousands of projects that provide a lot of job opportunities. According to the minister, Mashrouak is working in parallel to implement the ministry's current plan to achieve the economic empowerment of Egyptian women, especially the breadwinners. He explained that Minya took the lead in a number of projects funded by Mashrouak so far, as it implemented 22,600 projects with loans exceeding EGP 2.7bn, creating 211,800 job opportunities, followed by Sohag with more than 21,000 projects with loans of EGP 2.7bn and a total of 218,200 job opportunities. Dakahlia came next with 16,200 projects, loans of EGP 1.9bn, and 147,000 job opportunities. Mashrouak also helped Sharqyea implement 15,700 projects with loans of EGP 2.4bn and created 178,500 job opportunities. Amna explained that the selection of projects is based on two basic considerations, which are the contribution to the development of the state and the creation of added value for the beneficiary of the financing of the project. The Local Development minister also directed the workers in Mashrouak to expand the provision of technical, training, and marketing support for all projects, especially the small and micro enterprises funded through it, as well as provide the necessary ideas and feasibility studies so that all new or existing projects can benefit from them. This ensures the continuity and development of these projects in accordance with the variables of the Egyptian market. He stressed that there is complete coordination between Mashrouak and the financing and marketing initiatives and projects that the ministry is working on, such as the Egypt Hands digital platform, which was launched by the ministry to market traditional handicraft products in cooperation with the World Food Organization and e-finance. Coordination is also taking place with the development programme of Upper Egypt in Qena and Sohag to contribute to the implementation of the project's goals in achieving sustainable economic development.
