Egypt’s Planning Minister encourages entrepreneurship during Professional Certificate in Entrepreneurship graduation ceremony

Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said, participated recently via video conference at the graduation ceremony for the first batch of the "Professional Certificate in Entrepreneurship", implemented in cooperation between the ministry's Rowad 2030 project and the German University in Cairo.At the beginning of her speech, El-Said addressed gratitude to the German University in Cairo for implementing this program in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, noting that this program is the first in which the ministry cooperates with the German University in the field of entrepreneurship.El-Said indicated that the program is witnessing the graduation of 100 young people who are at the beginning of the path to become entrepreneurs and actively contribute to achieving the state's goals of economic and social development and achieving the goals and vision of Egypt 2030.The minister said that encouraging entrepreneurship is one of the main entrances that the Egyptian state relies on to stimulate creativity and innovation, achieve economic development, and increase and create job opportunities, in a way that promotes youth empowerment and benefits from their creative capabilities, given that Egyptian youth are the true wealth of the state.The Egyptian state aims to expand training programs for entrepreneurship, expand business incubators, and encourage and consolidate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in all curricula of Egyptian universities, with the implementation of several supportive projects supervised by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development with various universities and educational institutions, El-Said explained.She pointed out that preceding this program was another program with the American University in Cairo for entrepreneurship training. Two batches of this program on innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship have been implemented over the past two years and will soon graduate, in cooperation with the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University and the University of Cambridge.El-Said stated that in the framework of supporting the culture of entrepreneurship, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development launched several dialogue sessions with young people, entities that host a large group of business incubators, and owners of small and medium enterprises, explaining that Egypt has an environment conducive to supporting the small and medium-sized enterprises sector, which is the ministry seeks to achieve in addition to providing all needs for the success of such projects.The minister noted the importance of the electronic interactive platform through which all existing projects are made available, various financing services are presented, and various success stories in the field of entrepreneurship are shared, especially with the importance of localizing the local industrial sector in the context of the Covid-19 crisis.El-Said continued that within the framework of the Covid-19 crisis, it is necessary to focus on a set of priorities, noting that it is an unprecedented crisis, the economic and social repercussions of which will be great. Thus, the small and medium enterprises sector is one of the most important sectors that help localize industry and value chains in Egypt.On benefiting from the global changes that occurred after the pandemic, Dr. El-Said stated that Egypt has an opportunity to attract a large number of industries and international companies, explaining that enhancing and creating a supportive environment for entrepreneurship helps to increase the resilience of the national economy and increase its ability to receive any kind of shock. She noted the importance of the role of information technology and qualifying youth to deal with the global digital revolution.El-Said added that the state’s goal is for young people to have the intellect and ability through their skills and capabilities to create their own jobs.The Minister of Planning and Economic Development concluded her speech by providing advice to youth in general and girls in particular. She stated that a person does not reach success without going through some frustration, adding that it is important to benefit from such experiences in order to achieve more success, as a successful person always benefits from his previous experiences, and everyone must have the will and armament with the necessary skills and experience.