Basil Rahmi, CEO of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), said that between July 2014 and June 2024, the agency provided approximately EGP 28bn in funding to support youth projects. This financing helped establish around 1.2 million micro, small, and medium enterprises, accounting for 59% of the total projects funded by the agency. These projects have collectively generated 1.8 million job opportunities. Rahmi emphasized MSMEDA's commitment to offering comprehensive financial and technical support to youth. This support encourages them to venture into entrepreneurship and establish their businesses. Through a diverse range of financial and non-financial services, MSMEDA aids young entrepreneurs in launching their projects and implementing innovative ideas, contributing to the creation of new, sustainable, and scalable job opportunities. Rahmi's statements were made in celebration of International Youth Day, where he highlighted MSMEDA's national strategy. This strategy aligns with the directives of the political leadership and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who also serves as the agency's chairman. It aims to empower youth to realize their ambitions, whether by starting new businesses or securing funding for existing ones across various sectors, including industry, commerce, agriculture, services, entrepreneurship, and green projects. Rahmi also stressed the agency's special focus on supporting innovative projects. He highlighted MSMEDA's collaboration with World Bank experts to launch Egypt's first investment program in venture capital funds. This initiative is part of MSMEDA's broader plan to support startups, which are crucial to the future of the Egyptian economy in terms of creating sustainable and growing job opportunities. The program aims to foster an investment-friendly environment for these projects by facilitating knowledge exchange with experts and partners and providing support to young entrepreneurs and innovators. Furthermore, Rahmi pointed out that MSMEDA has invested in seven venture capital funds, benefiting 140 Egyptian companies, half of which are led by young entrepreneurs. He also noted that indirect investment in startups has successfully created and preserved 30,000 job opportunities, of which 34% went to Egyptian women.
