Small- to Medium-sized Enterprise Program in Egypt

Results achieved as of the end of the project (March 30 2012) include: (1) Established 20 sustainable Business Development Service (BDS) Providers in 10 governorates in Egypt reaching a total of 22 000 micro- small- and medium enterprises (MSMEs) including 7 000 women-led enterprises and now serving about 4 000 clients annually. These services enabled MSMEs to increase their sales and exports and enhance their profitability and long-term competitiveness; (2) strengthened the capacity of two key government institutions to incorporate BDS strategies and practices into their work: (a) the General Authority for Investment (GAFI) a principal governmental authority that regulates and facilitates investment in Egypt and (b) the Central Bank’s Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI) which in turn is developing the capacity of public and privately owned banks to offer BDS services to MSMEs to improve their access to financial services.