Egypt - Port Said Governor Moheb Habashi met with Basil Rahmi, CEO of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), during his visit to the governorate. Both parties discussed potential cooperation between the Authority and the governorate to develop industrial small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and boost their production and competitiveness.

The meeting also addressed mechanisms for creating an investment climate that suits the needs of these projects.

The CEO of the Project Development Authority stressed the Authority’s keenness to support the projects of the people of Port Said Governorate, especially the productive ones, within the state’s strategy to empower local products and enhance their quality to qualify them for export.

The Governor of Port Said and MSMEDA CEO signed a contract to complete the development project of the suburbs district in the governorate at a total cost of EGP 7m, a grant from the European Union delegated to the European Investment Bank.

Rahmi explained that the total funding for this project amounted to EGP 17.5m, and was allocated entirely to renewing the sewage networks in the targeted areas in Port Said. They were chosen based on the governorate’s requirements, in cooperation with the Drinking Water and Sanitation Company.

He explained that the agency believes that developing the investment environment for the medium, small and micro enterprises sector depends largely on providing these basic facilities and public services that help existing projects expand and encourage young people and citizens to establish new projects. Rahmi also pointed out that MSMEDA was able to pump 81m in funding to develop the infrastructure in Port Said Governorate, as an important commercial and industrial hub. The amount was pumped entirely into the areas most in need of these services to develop the performance of small enterprises there and provide job opportunities for its people.

The agency also ensured that these projects were implemented according to labour-intensive systems so that hundreds of thousands of daily wages were provided for the irregular workers residing in these areas.

Moheb Habashi, Governor of Port Said, said that the governorate is currently working to help citizens, especially young people, gradually shift from commercial activities to industrial ones. He praised the cooperation between MSMEDA and the governorate to provide various forms of support necessary for the growth of these projects, as well as support start-ups and entrepreneurs through the financing package, non-financial services and benefits stipulated in Law 152 of 2020.

Habashi added that the contract signed between the agency and the governorate is a continuation of the cooperation between the two parties to enhance the infrastructure in the areas most in need of services in the governorate. The project includes completing the replacement and renewal of sewage networks in the Marwa area, providing 5,000 daily work opportunities and helping about 10,000 citizens.

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