Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, AASTMT sign a cooperation protocol to launch the first incubator for (People of Determination) entrepreneurs

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, and Dr. Adel Bilal, Vice President of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (AASTMT), witnessed recently the signing ceremony of a cooperation protocol between the Ministry, represented by the Rowad 2030 Project and the Academy, to set up specialized programs to support innovative ideas directed to (People of Determination) entrepreneurs.El-Said emphasized that supporting innovation and entrepreneurs, as well as supporting and empowering various groups, the most important of which are people of determination and special needs.
El-Said highlighted that the goal is to provide a supportive environment for them to integrate into society, stressing that this is considered as one of the main objectives of the sustainable development strategy: Egypt’s Vision 2030. El-Said explained that the success of the development process is fundamentally related to the fact that the human being is the center of development, achieving justice and availability to ensure that the goals lead to sustainability.El-Said added that there is great interest and support from the political leadership for the file of entrepreneurship, inclusion, and empowerment of people with disabilities and special needs.El-Said referred to the recommendations of the World Youth Forum (WYF) in Sharm El-Sheikh weeks ago in this regard, stressing that the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development spares no effort in providing various means of support for this important file.

El-Said also discussed the Egyptian state’s interest in people with special abilities, the expansion of the social protection umbrella, and the provision of all means to obtain all their rights, noting that 2018 was designated as a year for people with special abilities.For his part, Dr. Ismail Abdel Ghaffar stated that there is great importance that the Arab Academy attaches within the framework of the role entrusted to it, as one of the organizations of the League of the Arab States and joint Arab action, to support Arab and Egyptian youth, with disabilities and special needs.Abdel Ghaffar added that the Academy recently participated in organizing and launching several initiatives to support people with disabilities and special needs, such as the Second International Conference for Persons with Disabilities after the activities of the PACES project funded by the European Commission.Dr. Ghada Khalil, Director of the Rowad 2030 Project, explained that this cooperation specifically targets entrepreneurs with disabilities, to develop solutions to the various challenges facing these groups, by building their capabilities to establish start-up companies. Khalil explained that cooperation with the Arab Academy includes setting up programs to raise awareness of entrepreneurship and innovation and holding competitions and hackathons in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation targeting people with disabilities.