The SMEs Development Authority has developed an integrated map for financing projects in priority areas.
In the presence of Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly and Head of the EU delegation to Egypt Ivan Surkoš, Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil attended the signing of the EU-funded Labor Intensive Investment Project.
With €67.6mln in total funding, the program aims to create short-term employment opportunities for unemployed, unskilled and semi-skilled workers and provide access to basic infrastructure and social services in poor areas, mainly in the fields of: education, health and environment.
“The SMEs Development Authority has developed an integrated map for financing projects in priority areas, according to labour-cost standards,” Kabil said.
The ministry, he added, is keen on developing small and medium-sized enterprises, being “an important propeller of economic growth.”
On the other hand, Surkoš affirmed the EU’s commitment to support Egypt in achieving economic sustainability, noting that the program was implemented in 20 Egyptian governorates with 50,000 beneficiaries.
A number of governors, as well as representatives of the EU Commission and the World Bank, also attended the event.