Al Mashat Launches the Second Phase of the Hub for Advisory, Finance and Investments for Enterprises
Basant Ahmed
In continuation of the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation's efforts aimed at empowering the private sector and expanding its participation in development, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, launched the second phase of the Hub for Advisory, Finance and Investments for Enterprises to enhance its position as a comprehensive and integrated platform to make available various financing tools such as direct investment, trade finance, concessional financing, risk insurance and technical support and capacity building services provided by development partners to enhance the competitiveness of the private sector.
This came during a high-level event with the participation of Minister of Labor Mohamed Gibran, Dr. Ashraf Elaraby, President of the Institute of National Planning, Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst, Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt, Alessandro Fracassetti, UNDP Resident Representative in Egypt, Olivia Toderean, Romanian Ambassador to Egypt, and representatives of GIZ, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and other development partners.
Through the second phase, Hub for Advisory, Finance and Investments for Enterprises, which can be accessed via the following link [https://privatesector.moic.gov.eg/ar](https://privatesector.moic.gov.eg/ar), offers more than 90 financial and non-financial services available from 44 bilateral and multilateral development partners to the private sector in Egypt, up from 62 services at the time of the platform's launch in December 2023, attracting nearly 18,000 users from the private sector and entrepreneurs wishing to learn about the services available from international development partners, as the platform database includes 700 companies that have benefited from services, and the platform also showcased over 1,000 tenders and initiatives for development projects funded by development partners in Egypt and more than 80 other countries, to encourage local private sector companies to participate in development and support their access to global markets.
For her part, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat emphasized that the platform complements the ministry's efforts at various levels to enhance the government's efforts to empower the private sector, create a conducive business environment, and provide more opportunities for the business community in Egypt, as platform enhances economic diplomacy efforts to promote financing for development, which is the ministry's main objective as we work to make financing and technical support available from both local and international sources to stimulate sustainable economic development in Egypt.
'Al-Mashat' affirmed the attractiveness of the local and foreign private sectors in Egypt to the concessional development financing available from international development partners, and that such financing contributes significantly to stimulating foreign direct investments, especially since financing is the backbone of any investment, whether local or foreign, and the financing available from development partners is characterized by being easy and long-term, making it one of the best types of financing sought by investors, adding that the efforts made by the ministry in collaboration with international partners succeeded in concluding more than 150 projects with concessional development financing for the private sector exceeding about $14.5 billion. These financing have contributed to increasing investments in vital sectors, primarily renewable energy, green financing, financial sectors, agribusiness, SMEs, sustainable transportation, and other priority sectors.
'Al-Mashat' underscored that in light of the integration between planning and international cooperation tools to achieve economic development, as well as in line with the state's efforts to empower the private sector, the ministry is currently working to activate the investment guarantees mechanism from the European Union valued at €1.8 billion, in addition to strengthening its partnerships with various partners to provide more financing and investments that contribute to creating a more stimulating work environment for both local and foreign private sectors.
Project Center
The platform provides various services, including a "Project Center", which enables any entity, whether governmental in Egypt or internationally, private sector, or development partner, to add any developmental project with its details on the platform, in order to inform various partners of these details and stimulate the partnership process, whether through direct contributions or project financing, and the page allows linking companies, projects and sustainable development goals.
Deal Center
The platform also includes a Deal Center, which showcases various deals and financing that the private sector has benefited from international partners, enhancing transparency efforts and clarifying available services for new companies, along with business precedent between the private sector and development partners.
Reports and Research
To enhance the approach taken by the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation to support the process of sharing experiences and knowledge, the Hub for Advisory, Finance and Investments for Enterprises platform includes a special section for reports and research, which includes various diagnostic reports and research prepared by development partners on private sector empowerment efforts and monitoring of developmental developments in various sectors. It is worth noting that all these services are supported by artificial intelligence through a "chatbot" that facilitates the use process for companies and enables them to easily access the various services.
Technical Support
In the same context, the platform allows the private sector to learn about available consulting and technical support services from development partners, as well as ongoing technical support programs for various projects, as Technical support is considered one of the important mechanisms for collaboration with various partners to benefit from their accumulated experience in feasibility studies, consultations, and others.
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