Meeting with entrepreneurs from the new Egypt

On October 2nd, Casa Árabe welcomed a delegation of the Egyptian Business Development Association (EBDA). It was included on the accompanying process to democratic governance in the Arab world "Masar", developed by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID). "Masar" program aims to strengthen civil society and to give institutional support to develop public policies.

This meeting with Egyptian and Spanish SMEs was hosted by the AECID, EBDA board members and representatives from the commercial office of the Egyptian Embassy in Spain. Representing Spain there were the following NGOs: Cideal, Conemund, Seres, Forética Foundation, Iniciador Foundation and EFE Foundation. Likewise, the event was also attended by AECID and Casa Árabe members.

One of the priorities of the new president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, and of his government is to develop the support program for the small and medium enterprises (SMS), aimed to promote economy, to step forward in the economic transition period of the country, enabling an inclusive sustainable development and creating job posts.

The visit to support SMEs is organized by the AECID’s African, Asian and Oriental Cooperation Department (CAEEO) and the EBDA, an association whose members are acquiring a special political relevance within the new Egyptian political and institutional context and that have shown interest towards Spanish experience on entrepreneurial development and corporate social responsibility. With this visit, the preliminary character pretends to canalize the transference of Spanish knowledge and experience in the sector and to establish contact networks and new working lines between Spanish and Egyptian SMEs and associations. One of the aims of this association is to promote the development of the new entrepreneurial tissue in Egypt, towards professionalism and internationalization, promoting corporate social responsibility.