Nevine Gamea, Minister of Trade and Industry and Executive Director of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the agency and Amazon Egypt, in order to help enterprises market their products through Amazon.eg store.
The agreement was signed by the Director of Amazon Egypt projects, and Raafat Abbas, the head of the Non-Financial Services Central Sector at MSMEDA, in the presence of Omar Al-Sahy, director general of Amazon Egypt; Tarek Shash, Executive Vice President of the Agency; and a number of officials from both sides.
Through this partnership, Amazon will contribute to empowering local enterprises, entrepreneurs and craftsmen registered in the agency, as well as help them grow their businesses online, and make their products available to millions of Amazon users in Egypt.
Gamea said that the MoU signed with Amazon Egypt is in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030 with regard to helping small enterprise owners in various productive sectors to continue and expand, stressing the importance of cooperation with leading technology companies in the field of e-commerce, including Amazon Egypt.
Gamea stressed that the agency is always keen on providing various aspects of support to small enterprises of all kinds to help their owners market their products and increase their competitiveness locally and globally.
She added that the agency, in cooperation with the various concerned authorities in Egypt, facilitates the participation of enterprise owners in the central, local and international exhibitions organized by the agency or ones that it participates in regularly. This ensures the continuity of marketing the products of these projects and provides the opportunity for the largest possible number of project owners to participate in these exhibitions. She noted that the number of e-commerce customers and e-marketing applications has doubled recently, especially after the pandemic, which makes the integration of small business owners in the field of e-marketing a necessity to enhance the sector’s growth rates.
For his part, Omar El-Sahy said that supporting MSMEs is an essential part of Amazon’s work and within its culture. He pointed out that the percentage of products offered by external companies on Amazon stores around the world makes up more than 50% of the total products. The majority of these products are small businesses. He added that cooperation with MSMEDA will help highlight the rich heritage of handicrafts in Egypt, adding a valuable range of wide options for customers when they shop at Amazon Egypt.
He added that the cooperation with the agency will motivate more entrepreneurs to join the Amazon Egypt store to develop their businesses. Moreover, Amazon will continue to support Egypt’s vision to achieve economic diversification and digital transformation. This partnership is also a significant achievement in Amazon’s ongoing efforts to support SMEs in local communities.
El-Sahy noted this partnership will not only provide support to local products, but will utilize various educational and logistical tools to boost their business growth. Under this MoU, , Amazon Egypt will provide enterprises registered in MSMEDA with educational seminars, professional product photography services, assistance in preparing companies for the process of joining Amazon Egypt, as well as providing ongoing support services for sellers.
Amazon will also dedicate a section that displays the products of companies registered in MSMEDA. Once businesses have completed the registration process to sell on the store, they will be able to benefit from the seller support and account management services in the store, as well as advice and guidance on selling strategies, which will ensure they continue their businesses and achieve growth while selling their products in the store.
On his part, Tarek Shash said that this signing comes within the framework of MSMEDA’s keenness to support SMEs owners and help them market their products using modern technological methods and integrate them into major e-commerce platforms. He explained that the agency continues to implement its plan that provides integrated financial and non-financial services to help young people start their new projects or expand and continue their existing ones.
Raafat Abbas explained that technical support services for small enterprises is one of the most important factors that contribute to the success and continuity of these projects. He stressed that the agency offers various services throughout the life cycle of these projects, including participation in local and international exhibitions, and marketing their products on e-commerce outlets.
Abbas stressed that the participation of project owners in electronic stores gets implemented in accordance with specific criteria, the most important of which are the quality of the product, its price, and the project’s ability to fulfill its obligations in terms of certain deadlines. He added that the agency will cooperate with the company with the support of the project owners who wish to display their products on e-platforms and train them to ensure their products are developed in line with the local and international requirements.
