With a portfolio of about €66 million, the Italian Cooperation aims to promote sustainable economic development in Egypt through support to the private sector, especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and startups, as well as through the transfer of know-how in those industrial sectors where Italy can provide added value, such as leather, marble and wood.
Two credit-financed initiatives address the problem of access to credit and financing for local MSMEs and startups. The first initiative, with a budget of €12.6 million, provides a line of credit managed by the Egyptian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), through which loans are offered to local MPMIs with favorable interest rates, to be used both for the purchase of machinery and equipment and for technical assistance and training services. A second aid credit, totaling €45 million, provides for the activation of credit lines totaling €36 million for local MPMIs, a Venture Capital fund of €5 million, and technical assistance activities for local MPMIs and startups.
Finally, two grant-funded initiatives offer technical assistance to the country’s industrial districts. In this regard, the € 6 million grant program for the company running the “Robbiki Leather City” (RLC) industrial park, directly managed by the AICS Cairo Headquarters, is ongoing, while a new program for the development of the leather, wood, and marble industrial districts, worth € 3 million, has been approved.