Egyptian-Saudi Joint Committee Launches Website for MSME Funding

The Egyptian-Saudi Joint Committee for the development of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) has established a new website to help intermediaries acquire funding, as well as to highlight its activities and showcase its achievements in financing Egypt’s MSMEs.

The committee's financing is buttressed by Saudi Arabia’s $200 million grant allocated to supporting Egyptian efforts to bridge the gap between MSMEs and financial institutions, a grant which helps facilitate MSMEs’ access to capital through financial intermediaries.

The new website provides a simplified outline structure for intermediaries that are seeking funding and could benefit from the grant by applying to the committee.

Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, stated that these bilateral strategic relations are helping make strides by developing financing for projects across various sectors.

So far, the grant has provided funding for 2,500 MSMEs through various intermediaries across Egypt, with the projects estimated to have created over 12,000 job opportunities. The current portfolio of the joint committee amounts to $1.9 billion worth of projects, and is managed through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).

The committee has also set aside an additional $1.5 billion for the King Salman Program for the Development of the Sinai Peninsula, which will include projects such as the establishment of the King Salman University, various housing complexes, road development, and water desalination plants.