Bassel Rahmy, CEO of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), has emphasised the substantial contribution of MSME sector in Egypt , which accounts for more than 80% of the country’s economy and serves as a significant driver of employment, particularly for young graduates.
MSMEDA is actively collaborating with various state institutions to implement the Small Enterprise Development Law, which offers a range of incentives and benefits to bolster and launch projects within the sector. These efforts aim to propel economic development processes and create employment opportunities for youth.
In furtherance of these objectives, the agency has taken steps to encourage project owners to transition from the informal to the formal sector. Through coordination with the National Authority for Social Insurance, MSMEDA ensures that project owners who regularise their status are exempt from paying subscriptions, except from the date of obtaining their licences.
Moreover, MSMEDA has streamlined networking procedures with the Insurance Authority across its branches to help project owners obtain necessary social insurance documents. Representatives of the authority are now available in 22 branches of the agency across governorates.
Additionally, MSMEDA is facilitating the participation of project owners in government contracts by collaborating with the General Authority for Government Services. This involves allocating a significant portion of government contracts to both medium-sized projects and small and micro projects.
To further empower small enterprises, MSMEDA ensures that technical specifications consider the potential and capabilities of these projects. Furthermore, project owners are exempt from submitting work history and previous year budgets, provided that the nature of the process does not necessitate it.
In a bid to enhance policies for small enterprises and entrepreneurship in Egypt, MSMEDA is partnering with the Competitiveness Programme for the Middle East and North Africa, affiliated with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). An upcoming meeting of the Small Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Policies Working Group, co-chaired by Tunisia and Italy, will focus on digitisation, green transition, financing availability, and formal sector transition, under the theme “Empowering Small Enterprises in the Middle East and North Africa.”
