● Al-Mashat: Inclusion, digitalization and green transformation are key elements for translating our partnerships with the international community into development cooperation programs and projects.
The Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, participated as a keynote speaker in the “Shaping the Future with Africa – Young Entrepreneurship as Key to a Just Transition” conference which was organized by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Berlin, Germany. It aims to exchange visions, ideas, and best practices regarding innovation, entrepreneurship, and the international achievements that have been achieved in this field.
At the conference, the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, Svenja Schulze, delivered the opening speech. Also participating in the conference was the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, Executive Vice President of the African Center for Economic Transformation, Mfants Joyce Afemi, Founder of the African Development Platform, Kola Aina, and Director of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Birgit Brägel, in addition to representatives of the private sector from Ghana and Tanzania.
In her speech, Al-Mashat said that Egypt has the ability and capabilities to become a key center for entrepreneurship, linking the Middle East and Africa. Also, according to the investment report in 2022, Egypt ranked first with the largest number of investment deals in emerging companies in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Al-Mashat also confirmed that the entrepreneurship system is witnessing great interest from the Government of Egypt and in 2017 the government launched Egypt Ventures, the first company to witness a government contribution to a venture capital company, in cooperation with the private sector and development partners, and it is managed through a private sector board of directors.
H.E. explained that Egypt Ventures, which focuses on enabling the entrepreneurship ecosystem through investing in business accelerators and co-investment, has invested since 2017 in more than 205 companies directly and indirectly, and is also investing in three business accelerators; Falak, EFG FinTech and Flat6Labs, stressing that creating an encouraging environment for startups requires expanding risk capital investments, thus providing opportunities for these companies to expand and achieve growth.
H.E. added that the Ministry of International Cooperation is responsible for coordinating relations with multilateral and bilateral development partners, countries, and regional and international organizations. On that note, H.E. said that there are three keywords that constitute its relationship with all of these partners, which are inclusion -for all groups of women, youth, and entrepreneurs- digital transformation, and green transformation. Al-Mashat then explained that these three axes constitute the basis for dealing with the international community and development partners, they are translated into development cooperation programs and projects, on the basis of which technical support and soft development financing are provided.
H.E. noted that the Ministry of International Cooperation’s portfolio currently includes 36 projects in the fields of innovation, digital transformation and entrepreneurship. These projects contribute to achieving 11 goals and are implemented with 15 development partners.
Al-Mashat touched on the existing partnership between the Egyptian government, represented by the Ministry of International Cooperation, and the United Nations, represented by the joint United Nations team on digitization and innovation, which aims to enhance digital transformation and innovation as major accelerators of progress towards Egypt’s Vision 2030 and SDGS.
H.E. pointed to the cooperation with AfriLabs through the ClimaTech Run competition, as the Ministry of International Cooperation actively participates in partnerships with AfriLabs, the largest African network of technology and innovation centers, and this cooperation aims to promote entrepreneurship and innovation throughout the continent.
To watch the session
https://www.bmz.de/en/news/conference-shaping-the-future
Al-Mashat also mentioned cooperation with the United Nations in the “Shabab Balad” initiative, the Egyptian version of the United Nations’ “Generation Unlimited” initiative, with the aim of supporting and empowering young people in the fields of education, employment, entrepreneurship and social participation, and it aspires to be a sustainable national platform for multilateral partners working together, to ensure that all youth in Egypt between the ages of 10 and 24 are either enrolled in education, have sufficient employable skills, have entrepreneurial opportunities, and participate positively in society by 2030.
Al-Mashat explained that, in light of the high size of the sustainable development gap, companies and entrepreneurs must play a role in bridging this gap by linking their goals to achieving the SDGs, to be able to obtain financing from development partners, adding that the world must be characterized by companies with a spirit of rapid change to keep pace with continuous development.