كتبت / ليلي حسين

A high-level delegation representing the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) presided by UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States Dr. Khalida Bouzar; UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Sylvain Merlen; and UNDP Assistant Resident Representative, Inclusive Growth and Innovation Team Leader Dr. Abeer Shakweer visited Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA). MSMEDA Deputy Executive Director Engineer Tarek Shash received the delegation and tackled means of cooperation between UNDP and MSMEDA on the coming phase and ways to expand in the provision of financial and nonfinancial services to MSME sector in Egypt.
UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States Dr. Khalida Bouzar stressed the importance of cooperation between MSMEDA and UNDP, especially, in light of the increasing role MSMEs play at the regional level in creating jobs and improving living conditions to limit COVID-19 repercussions.
Dr. Bouzar lauded the on-going cooperation between MSMEDA and UNDP to develop MSMEs in Egypt within the context of the economic growth the Egyptian Government is witnessing and its orientations to grant all privileges and facilities this MSME sector needs.
“UNDP is keen on providing different aspects of technical and institutional support in view of enhancing MSMEDA capacity to meet effectively the requirements of MSMEs,” Dr. Bouzar added.
MSMEDA Deputy Executive Director Engineer Tarek Shash said UNDP is the first and major donor agency that provided support and assistance to MSMEDA in achieving its development goals. Engineer Shash added MSMEDA forges a strategic partnership with UNDP on finance, technical and institutional support and various fields of socio-economic development, including without limitations, entrepreneurship and MSME development, youth and women empowerment. Deputy Executive Director pointed out to that on-going cooperation with UNDP crowns cooperation MSMEDA is forging with many international and donor agencies. This cooperation, he added, reflects the confidence of these agencies in the capacity of Egyptian institutions and agencies in light of the stability and economic growth lately attained by the Egyptian Government.

“UNDP-MSMEDA cooperation is a major successful experience in supporting MSMEs. Such cooperation gains importance following the endorsement of the new Law on the Development of Micro, Small and Micro Enterprises 152/2020. This Law has entailed new missions for MSMEDA including assistance in MSME formalization,” UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Sylvain Merlen said.
Merlen added that UNDP is looking forward to sustain cooperation with MSMEDA and expand in developing SMEs that contribute to generating jobs, upgrade production and open exportation outlets.
UNDP Assistant Resident Representative, Inclusive Growth and Innovation Team Leader Dr. Abeer Shakweer said there exists ongoing cooperation between MSMEDA and UNDP touching on the different development orientations of sustainable development in Egypt. She added the current phase is witnessing more support to MSEs through UNDP and MSMEDA including the technical and marketing areas that will lead to the stability and sustainability of these enterprises.
“UNDP cooperated with MSMEDA on upgrading the capacities of human cadres and introducing facilitated mechanisms to deal with the public. This way MSMEDA will be better enabled to expand in granting effective services to SMEs, particularly, following the activation of the incentives of MSME Law 152/2020 and the provision of one-stop-shop (OSS) services,” Dr. Shakweer reiterated.