Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development participates in the "The Power of Scaleups" event
29 September 2022
H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, participated on Thursday in an event entitled "The Power of Scaleups", in the presence of Mr. Amr El-Abd, CEO of the Endeavor Foundation (Organizer of the event), and a group of prominent entrepreneurs.
During her speech, Dr. Hala El-Said emphasized that innovation is the cornerstone of human development, including innovation in science and technology, knowledge management, and research.
El-Said referred to the relationship between entrepreneurship initiatives and crises such as those that the world is currently experiencing, stressing that the most pioneering innovations throughout history were discovered in times of crisis.
El-Said explained that the overlapping crises work mainly to generate huge opportunities to unlock untapped potential and to take bold measures to form a strong new reality for ourselves and the world around us.
El-Said also stressed that the increasing vulnerability to climate is raising unprecedented challenges for the global community, noting the acceleration of countries to identify a path for green development and transform key sectors and economic activities to become more sustainable.
El-Said explained that nearly half of the emissions that the world needs to avoid or reduce by 2050 can only be dealt with through new advanced technologies.
El-Said emphasized that entrepreneurs are uniquely equipped to mitigate the broad humanitarian challenges we face, and to build momentum towards more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development.
The Minister of Planning said that with Egypt's large population of over 100 million citizens, the majority of whom are young people, it is an ideal place for entrepreneurs from all sectors to develop and test their ambitious ideas.
El-Said confirmed that the Egyptian government has taken great steps toward supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country.
This has been reflected in the tireless efforts to establish several incubators and provide startups with the necessary funding, according to El-Said.
On the efforts of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in this field; El-Said noted the cooperation with a wide network of private investors and international institutions to enable entrepreneurs to thrive in a challenging global environment.
El-Said added that the Ministry's "The Rowad 2030 (entrepreneurs 2030) project was established to help young entrepreneurs turn their ideas into projects on the ground.
El-Said explained that the project was recognized as one of the best practices that achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) on the electronic platform of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
El-Said said that 9 business incubators were established within the scope of the project, which led to the creation of about 670 incubation opportunities and the provision of more than 6,500 hours of training.
El-Said added that The Rowad 2030 project is offering some grants in entrepreneurship in cooperation with prominent institutions such as the American University in Cairo (AUC) and the University of Cambridge.
The Minister of Planning referred to the Ministry's organization of the "Solutions Day" during the COP 27 climate conference, which aims to exchange experiences and promote innovative solutions to a wide range of climate challenges.
El-Said also pointed out that the Ministry launched the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects under the auspices of the President of the Republic and in cooperation with Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, the climate pioneer of the Egyptian presidency of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27, which focuses on climate action through technological empowerment and raising awareness of climate issues at the level the local.
In the conclusion of her speech; Dr. Hala El-Said emphasized the importance of supporting innovators by providing them with many supportive measures, to motivate young people to create their jobs away from traditional paths.