Bassel Rahmy, CEO of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), said the agency has directed 45% of its total financing between July 2014 and December 2025 to projects owned or managed by women, amounting to EGP 18.7bn.
According to Rahmy, the financing supported around 934,000 projects across agricultural, industrial, productive, service, and commercial sectors as part of the agency’s strategy to strengthen economic opportunities for Egyptian women.
In a statement marking Egyptian Women’s Day on 16 March, Rahmy said these projects have created approximately 1.3 million job opportunities. In addition, community development initiatives benefiting women generated around 18.9 million workdays during the same period.
He added that women-led projects accounted for 28% of MSMEDA’s marketing services over the past decade, while around 56,000 women have received entrepreneurship development training through the agency.
Rahmy noted that MSMEDA works to facilitate various forms of support for Egyptian women, particularly young female graduates seeking to enter self-employment and entrepreneurship, in line with directives from the political leadership and Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister and chair of the agency’s board.
He explained that the agency’s strategy focuses on empowering women both economically and socially, encouraging them to establish sustainable and scalable small and micro productive enterprises that can improve their livelihoods.
Rahmy added that MSMEDA’s women’s empowerment strategy is based on several pillars, including cooperation with government entities, civil society organisations, and the private sector to create a supportive ecosystem for women entrepreneurs.
The agency also offers technical, administrative, and financial support programmes tailored specifically for women, helping them establish new businesses or expand existing ones.
In addition, MSMEDA provides free vocational and professional training programmes aimed at enabling women to pursue self-employment and launch small and micro enterprises across governorates, cities, and villages.
Special attention is given to supporting women’s production clusters and handicraft sectors, particularly in border governorates and Upper Egypt, which are among the regions most in need of economic development.
Rahmy also highlighted efforts to facilitate women’s participation in major exhibitions organised by the agency, including Turathna Exhibition, its flagship event dedicated to traditional and handicraft industries.
He noted that the agency also participates in awareness and health campaigns targeting women in rural areas as part of broader corporate social responsibility initiatives, in addition to organising literacy programmes.
Rahmy stressed that MSMEDA’s support extends beyond financing and technical services to include marketing assistance, helping women access new local and regional markets through e-marketing services, professional product photography, and participation in exhibitions.
Women’s participation in local exhibitions organised by the agency has reached around 55%, he added.
Rahmy called on Egyptian women and girls to visit MSMEDA branches across the country or contact the agency’s hotline to learn more about the services available for those interested in launching small productive enterprises. He also encouraged women with innovative ideas to approach the agency for support in transforming them into viable businesses.
