“Mashrou’ak” aims to implement small, micro-projects worth $129mln in 2024: Egypt's minister

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Egypt - The National Project for Community, Local, and Human Development “Mashrou’ak” (Your Project) aims to implement several small and micro projects for EGP 4bn during 2024.

Hisham Amna, Minister of Local Development, said that “Mashrou’ak” financed 10,269 projects during 2023 for EGP 2.7bn, creating about 149,000 job opportunities.

Amna explained, in a statement by the Ministry, that important and effective steps have been taken in 2023 to support the medium, small, and micro-enterprise sectors to provide job opportunities for young people. This would be through its two financing arms, which are the Local Development Fund and the National Project for Community, Local, and Human Development “Mashou’ak”.

He stressed that the Ministry pays great attention to these projects because of their pivotal role in developing and advancing production, providing job opportunities for young men and women in various governorates, and developing the state’s national economy, as well as cooperating with the governorates to provide the necessary lands to establish complexes and economic activities of various kinds.

He pointed out that soft loans were provided by the Ministry’s Local Development Fund during the year 2023. The total number of projects that were financed was 1,955, for EGP 28m, providing 2,500 job opportunities. During the year 2024, it is targeted to finance 2,000 micro-projects for EGP 35m.

In a related context, the Minister of Local Development confirmed that the Ministry is concerned with the file of developing industrial zones on the lands of the governorates to encourage investment in industrial zones and create more job opportunities. He noted that in 2023, the Ministry inventoried the industrial and investment zones and all regions of the state, and their number reached 146. Of these, 74 regions are governorates, and a contract was made with the Military Survey Department. An amount of EGP 65m was approved for plans to be drafted.

He added that the vacant plots with complete facilities in all industrial and investment areas were identified and displayed on the state’s investment opportunities map.

Agreements were also completed with 664 investors for 1,177 vacant plots in these areas with complete facilities on an area of 5,233,502 square metres. The needed licenses are being issued for them. Moreover, coordination was made with the Industrial Development Authority, the Investment Authority, and the Ministry of Housing, and the prices of all plots of land in the industrial and investment zones were determined.