The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Egypt announced it has supported the medium, small and micro enterprises projects with nearly three billion LE in funds during 2020, which raised the number of these projects to more than 103,000.
The medium, small and micro enterprises sector was amongst the sectors hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic last year, it said.
It added, on its official Twitter page, that half of the beneficiaries were women.
The UNDP prepared a report in which it highlighted the integrated role it played with the Egyptian government and partners, to confront complex issues – especially those related to the environment, climate change, job creation, empowering women, youth, and people with disabilities and local development.
Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala al-Saeed said last year that around 5.8 million Egyptians work in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector, representing about 43.1 percent of the total number of workers in the official sector.
The Egyptian government is working to encourage a culture of entrepreneurship, Saeed said, and aims to consolidate it within different education stages to support self-employment and encourage Egyptians to become a maker of job opportunities as well.
Egypt’s Vision 2030 represents a major pillar in encouraging knowledge, innovation and scientific research, she added, aiming by 2030 to transform Egypt into a creative and innovative society conductive to science, technology and knowledge.
