The Ministry of Local Development outlined a new action plan for Mashroak (your business) program from 2024/25 to 2026/27 to support youth entrepreneurs and provide them with easy loans to start their businesses and support the national economy, according to the “Egyptian streets” website.
According to the Minister of Local Development, Manal Awad, the Ministry aims to empower the economy and support small and micro enterprises by financing over 6,500 projects.
The Mashroak program was launched in 2015 to finance small businesses. Operated in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and six banks, the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr (Bank of Egypt), Banque du Caire (Bank of Cairo), the Housing and Development Bank (HDB), the Egyptian Agricultural Bank (EAB), and Bank of Alexandria (AlexBank), the project is planned to continue until 2030.
Mashroak focuses on financing micro, small, and medium enterprises to create job opportunities for youth through a national initiative for local and community development; it also targets micro-projects designed to generate employment for both young people and women via the local development fund administered by the Ministry.
The launch of small businesses across Egypt holds the potential to transform local economies, offering new job prospects to young people in rural villages, urban neighbourhoods, and bustling cities.
Some of the project’s critical measures are facilitating and incentivizing investment within industrial zones, regulating informal industrial areas, resolving issues affecting industrial zones, completing detailed plans for these zones, expanding support for agricultural manufacturing, and promoting rural tourism.
During a meeting on 12 July, Awad highlighted the Ministry’s dedication to supporting inter-ministerial efforts to build a dynamic local economy that could attract investment and amplify private sector engagement in regional economic initiatives.
