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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Heritage Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Size isn't everything
By Shaimaa LabibAlUMNI of the USAID Development Training Programme (DTP) were recently invited to attend a lecture on the challenges and opportunities facing small enterprises.
The lecture was organised by the Institute for International Education (IIE), in collaboration with Social Planning and Administrative Consultants (SPAAC).
The key speaker was Hussein El-Gammal, managing director of the Social Fund for Development (SFD), who explained the operation of SFD, which targets small and micro enterprises (SMEs), creating new job opportunities through programmes intended to benefit new graduates, unemployed youth, workers laid off as a result of the restructuring of public enterprises, and female-headed households.
"SMEs are essential for promoting economic growth since they need only minimal investment, they operate in a small space and are labour intensive. In addition, they act as training centres for unskilled labour, utilise local resources and create job opportunities in rural areas," El-Gammal said. However, he added that Egypt's SMEs face tremendous challenges. "With the current emphasis on globalisation, SME products face severe competition in both local and foreign markets. In order to better compete in the global economy, SMEs must reduce their costs while constantly improving quality. Therefore, the government decided to form the Small Enterprise Development Organisation (SEDO), established by presidential decree last December, to offer financial and business services to SMEs."
SEDO, which has an LE1.5 billion budget, is expected to promote the creation of approximately 200,000 sustainable job opportunities annually, starting this year, by providing access to credit and business services to both new and existing small enterprises.
"SFD also provides young entrepreneurs with technical training through the establishment of training centres known as 'incubators' in different parts of Egypt," El-Gammal said.
The 'incubators' provide two-to-four year courses that aim at improving the technological skills of trainees, enabling them to make use of information technology. These incubators also provide young entrepreneurs with knowledge of management, packaging and marketing.
The SFD, established by presidential decree in 1991, aims to provide a safety net to help soften the effects of the ongoing economic adjustment programme on economically vulnerable sections of the Egyptian society.
