CAIRO, Oct 2, 2018 - The Minister of Investment and International Co-operation, Sahar Nasr, on Tuesday inaugurated a workshop on upgrading the climate of direct investment and venture capital in Egypt. The opening was attended by representatives from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Egyptian Investment Management Association (EIMA) and a number of investors. Minister Nasr said that reforms for improving the investment climate were continuing. She called on companies to increase their activities and exploit the current opportunities. She added that recent reforms had introduced anti-bureaucracy and good governance procedures, and facilities for doing business through the Investor Services Centre. Egypt has passed laws for Investment, Bankruptcy, Leasing, and Capital Market. The Ministry has launched the innovative "Fekretak Sherketak" initiative, in co-operation with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MICT), to encourage startups. Also, the Ministry has launched the "Falak" accelerator to help fund successful startups. During the event, the Minister thanked the EBRD and the EIMA for preparing a report on venture capital in Egypt, and she said the bank had financed a number of national projects. Catarina Bjorlin Hansen, the Deputy Head of EBRD in Egypt, reviewed the bank's efforts to support the increase in direct investment in Egypt. Abdellah el-Abiary, the chairman of the EIMA said that the association was convinced of the dire need for direct investment at present and the need to examine the volume of venture capital and investment funds. El-Ebiary added that the EIMA has contacted the EBRD to get a full report on the real volume of venture capital and investment funds in Egypt. The recommendations set out by the EBRD report will be taken into consideration and will be updated, added el-Ebiary. He noted that the decision-makers were responding quickly to the requirements, which would help improve the investment climate in the country. The EBRD report has shown that venture capital and investment funds are very useful tools for investment in any economy. They are useful to investors since they enable them to diversify their investment portfolios and to engage in different sectors and in long-term investments.
