In line with the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade (MIFT) plan to expand the establishment of investment zones, and following the directives of Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh to develop and diversify investment frameworks to meet the varying needs of investors, GAFI CEO Eng. Mohamed El-Gawsaky met with the Managing Director and CEO of Elsewedy Electric Eng. Ahmed El Sewedy, and CEO of Elsewedy Industrial Development Eng. Mohamed El Kammah to discuss the establishment of the first private investment zone in Egypt.
The Private Investment Zones Framework recently approved by MIFT provides all the services an investor may require in one location, including the presence of a customs department within the zone. This facilitates import and export operations for activities linked to global value chains, whether the final product is intended for export or to meet domestic demand.
Currently, Egypt hosts 12 Public Investment Zones across six governorates, encompassing 1,273 projects and generating 77,500 job opportunities.
Eng. Mohamed El-Gawsaky emphasized that the Egyptian government aims to sustain the private sector's leading role in investment, noting that private-sector investments accounted for 66% of total investments in the first quarter of the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
He also praised Elsewedy Group's positive contribution to promoting Egyptian investment opportunities abroad, highlighting that the private sector is best positioned to engage with peer private-sector institutions in other countries.
GAFI CEO reviewed the government's efforts to reduce the cost of establishment and operation for investors. One of the key efforts is the establishment of special investment zones, whereby all procedures are completed within the zone itself. Furthermore, the establishment of a zone customs department will contribute to reducing the shipping and unloading times and costs for companies operating in these zones. This follows after the Egyptian success in reducing the average customs clearance time to 5.8 days, compared to approximately 15.8 days previously, which reduced shipping costs by about USD 1.5 billion for companies and institutions operating in the Egyptian market.
Eng. Mohamed El-Gawsaky added that the system of special investment zones does not stop at the stage of granting licenses only, but also ensures reducing the time intervals between the establishment request and the final product reaching the markets, while also promoting the efficiency and sustainability of the projects within these zones with minimum time and effort.
Eng. Mohamed El-Gawsaky stated that the dedicated investment zones system aligns with the integrated business model of Elsewedy Electric, which has achieved significant success in the Egyptian market. The Group's current and future projects provide education and training services, localize advanced technologies, and establish supporting and complementary industry facilities at the same site as the main industries, with the objective of making products available in both the domestic and international markets.
For his part, Engineer Ahmed Elsewedy emphasized that the stability experienced by the Egyptian economy, along with the continuous improvements in investment-related legislation and procedures, has contributed to Egypt remaining as an ideal destination for the Group's investments and expansions. In fact, Elsewedy Electric has become a gateway for promoting investment in Egypt—either through joint investments with global institutions in the Egyptian market or through promotional campaigns conducted by the Group abroad, which have successfully attracted a number of European and Asian companies to enter the Egyptian market.
