• Egypt has launched a $50 million venture capital programme to finance new and existing investment funds, in collaboration with the World Bank.
• The programme aims to support young innovators, help them establish tech-focused projects and apps that facilitate peoples’ needs.
• The programme allows investment in funds that wish to expand in the African market. It also aims to develop incubators and business accelerators that support the growth of promising startups.

Source: Daily News Egypt

Nevine Gamea, Minister of Trade and Industry and Executive Director of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), stressed the state’s interest in supporting young innovators and providing technical and financial support to help them transform their ideas into projects that meet the various needs of people.

Gamea added that MSMEDA is keen on reviewing and developing its financial services on an ongoing basis to meet the needs of various types of projects, especially those that rely on technology and modern applications and have witnessed rapid growth after the spread of the Coronavirus. MSMEDA began cooperating with the World Bank, one of the most important donors of the agency, to launch the venture capital programme with funding of $50 million to finance new and existing investment funds that support entrepreneurship projects and implement specialised training programmes for employees working in various financial institutions to raise awareness of the mechanisms of this type of funding and help them expand their applications. This will eventually encourage Egypt’s promising youth to enter the free labour market and implement modern, advanced projects that can compete on a global level.

Gamea made this statement in her speech during the opening of the Direct Investment Week, which is co-organised by MSMEDA, the Egyptian Association for Direct Investment, and the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, in cooperation with the World Bank, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Misr Insurance Holding Company, and the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), in the presence of more than 120 finance and investment figures in Egypt. A specialised training programme is held for three days on direct investment, venture capital and equity fund management.

Gamea added that the most prominent feature of the venture capital programme is that it allows investment in funds that wish to expand in the African market. This helps increase trade exchange and exchange experiences with neighbouring countries in Africa. She also stressed that the agency continues to cooperate with various international and donor agencies to implement programmes that aim to develop incubators and business accelerators in line with international standards, which helps support entrepreneurs and encourage them to start new projects.