Egypt Startup Charter: Ongoing Policies and Procedures to Enhance Egypt’s Startup Business Environment

Egypt Startup Charter: Ongoing Policies and Procedures to Enhance Egypt’s Startup Business Environment

Adoption of a unified definition for startups with environmental or social impact to enable access to dedicated incentives

Facilitation of importing electronic components and advanced equipment for startups operating in the electronics sector

Provision of incentives and technical support for industrial startups to enable scaling

Establishment of regional alliances among universities, research centers, startups, and investors

Promotion of innovation through national alliances in priority technology sectors, including artificial intelligence and deep technologies

Enabling startups to access European innovation financing through the Horizon Europe program

Encouraging government entities to collaborate with Egyptian startups to deliver innovative digital solutions

Provision of financial and procedural incentives for incubators and accelerators, and establishment of specialized service free zones

 

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, affirmed that the Egypt Startup Charter includes more than 80 policies and procedures currently being implemented to bridge procedural gaps and enable startups to benefit from government incentives. These measures include actions already implemented to introduce innovative financing mechanisms such as crowdfunding, as well as short- and medium-term measures aimed at improving the startup business environment. These include facilitating tax procedures, simplifying liquidation and exit processes, and conducting a comprehensive study to identify regulatory and procedural challenges facing priority subsectors, while proposing practical, sector-specific solutions aligned with the nature of their activities.

 

The policies outlined in the action plan reflect a participatory, evidence-based process aimed at aligning recommendations with the needs of Egypt’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. This process began with a comprehensive review of more than 500 recommendations contained in over 25 reports prepared by local, regional, and international entities. These recommendations were referred to the working groups established under the Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship, where they were reviewed and prioritized based on relevance, feasibility, and anticipated impact.

 

The implementation of these measures will take place under the umbrella of the Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship, through the relevant ministries and entities, including the Ministries of Finance; Investment and Foreign Trade; Labor; Social Solidarity; the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency; the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; and other concerned bodies.

 

The government aims to implement a series of measures to establish a tax system that reflects the nature of startups, including the designation of specialized tax units to handle startup cases, taking into account their business models and cash flow structures. This approach is intended to reduce complexity, ensure tax clarity, and avoid unpredictable assessments.

 

Digital Government Engagement for Classified Startups

The Charter also supports full digital interaction between classified startups and government entities, including tax authorities, labor offices, and social insurance bodies, through trained points of contact. This will accelerate service delivery and improve communication, in addition to establishing a unified digital system that enables entrepreneurs to complete all company registration procedures efficiently through a single online window, without administrative complexity or multiple authorities.

 

The policies further include a growth-supportive tax regime for companies with annual revenues below EGP 20 million, through reduced income tax rates, exemptions from capital gains tax, stamp duty, real estate registration and notarization fees, and the deferral of the first tax audit for five years, easing burdens during establishment and expansion phases.

 

The government is also studying sector-specific facilitations to address regulatory and procedural challenges in priority subsectors. Future measures aim to simplify licensing procedures for startups, adopt a unified definition for startups with environmental or social impact to enable access to targeted incentives, amend the Law on Incentives for Science, Technology, and Innovation, and assess the fiscal impact of expanding the simplified tax regime.

 

An Innovation-Enabling Business Environment

 

The Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship also targets the implementation of measures to facilitate the import of equipment, electronic components, advanced technological devices, and embedded electronic systems for startups operating in the electronics sector, including the preparation of a “white list” to reduce time and administrative burden.

 

Additional measures include providing lower-cost, faster industrial services by granting industrial startups access to a package of technical, operational, and marketing services, including shared equipment and operational support to enable scaling. This is complemented by financial and technical support through the “Alliance and Development” initiative, which aims to establish regional alliances comprising universities, research centers, startups, support organizations, investors, and government entities. The Charter also enables Egyptian startups to access European funding through the Horizon Europe research and innovation program.

 

Government as an Enabling Partner

 

In this context, the government seeks to reinforce its role as an enabling partner—rather than a competitor—to startups by encouraging government entities to collaborate with Egyptian startups to deliver innovative and effective digital solutions within the framework of Egypt’s Digital Strategy. This includes enabling fintech startups to participate in the development of digital services and facilitating startup access to government procurement and tenders.

 

Talent Development and Retention

 

Through the Egypt Startup Charter, the government is increasing investments in human capital and talent retention while opening international pathways. Measures include providing financial support for technical training for startup employees to enhance workforce efficiency without imposing additional financial burdens, facilitating the entry of foreign professionals through visa systems available to citizens of more than 180 countries to support investment attraction and expansion.

 

Additional measures include simplifying applications for exemptions from foreign labor quotas through a specialized committee at the Ministry of Labor with clear directives to accelerate approvals, launching an executive education program tailored for senior management teams in startups—funded under the scale-up support program—and launching a Soft Landing Program to enable startups to expand to and from Egypt while attracting global companies.

 

The Charter also encourages large corporations to integrate startups into their supply chains, promotes entrepreneurship culture across different stages of education, and supports participation in international exhibitions to showcase Egyptian startup products and innovations.

 

Infrastructure that Drives Growth and Expansion

 

Within the same framework, the policies include providing financial and procedural incentives for incubators and accelerators, establishing specialized service free zones targeting sectors such as technology, media, and financial services to offer advanced infrastructure and support startups, leveraging recently approved crowdfunding mechanisms, and allocating a dedicated line within the state investment plan for entrepreneurs to efficiently direct public investment toward supporting startups and improving resource allocation.

The effectiveness of launching the Start-up Charter at the Grand Egyptian Museum