The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), represented by its CEO Hossam Heiba, and the Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB), represented by its Chairperson Bassam El-Shennawy, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in promoting investment opportunities in Egypt and abroad and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Association's clients. The MoU aims to provide the following services: * Support company founders, especially SMEs, in obtaining and exploiting investment opportunities effectively. * Introduce business youth associations around the world to the investment opportunities and incentives available in Egypt, as well as the services provided by GAFI to investors. * Organize joint conferences and seminars on investment and entrepreneurship, both in Egypt and abroad, as well as matching meetings between young Egyptian and foreign businessmen. * Organize workshops to raise awareness of the business community about entrepreneurship and the measures taken by the government to improve the investment climate and environment in Egypt. * Provide training opportunities to develop the skills of entrepreneurs and founders of SMEs, and facilitate the procedures for them. * Cooperate in updating the databases of available investment opportunities, targeted sectors, and studies of targeted markets, and research the needs of these markets for different products to increase Egyptian exports. Heiba emphasized the importance of the role of business associations in promoting investment in Egypt and creating innovative solutions to the economic challenges facing the country and the world. He said that the coming period will witness a surge in investment promotion, taking advantage of the legislative and procedural reforms carried out by the state, and the strong demand for investment in Egypt from both domestic and foreign sources. He added that this requires coordination between the public and private sectors to achieve the best interests of the Egyptian economy. He also said that the success stories of companies operating in Egypt are the main attraction for new investors and that investors are the best promoters of investment opportunities and incentives to their peers. El-Shennawy expressed the readiness of EJB to cooperate with GAFI in its investment promotion efforts, especially after the serious steps taken by the government to improve the investment environment, which made the Egyptian economy the most attractive among the countries of the region and the African continent.
