In the presence of Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt, and Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation and Head of the Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) participated in the official launch of Egypt’s first Startup Charter, during a major ceremony held at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM).
The new charter is the result of sustained collaborative efforts involving representatives from 15 national entities and more than 250 representatives of the startups community, as well as representatives of parliamentary councils, under the umbrella of the Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship. GAFI is honored to chair the group’s Technical Secretariat in partnership with the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation.
The “Startup Charter” aims to achieve strategic objectives over the next five years, including:
Empowering 5000 startups;
Creating 500,000 direct and indirect job opportunities through the startup sector;
Enhancing domestic human capital and mitigating the migration of skilled professionals;
Encouraging venture capital and attracting startup investments through a unified financing initiative; and
Linking pressing challenges across various State sectors with innovative solutions provided by startups.
The “Startup Charter” includes:
A unified definition of startups: Startups are defined as newly established companies characterized by rapid growth, flexibility, and innovation, aiming to offer or develop an innovative product, service, or business model in the market. This unified definition enables startups to benefit from a range of incentives and facilitations.
A unified financing initiative aims to coordinate available government funding resources and activate innovative mechanisms to maximize their impact by up to four times. It targets mobilizing $1 billion in funding for the startup sector over five years through government resources, guarantees, and co-investments with venture capital funds and private-sector investment and financing institutions.
A comprehensive guidance manual that covers all government services, permits, and licenses required by startups, including applicable fees, required documents, and issuance procedures.
An entrepreneurship policy observatory that is responsible for collecting and analyzing data related to the implementation of policies supporting growth and investment, as well as challenges facing startups, and issuing periodic reports to support the decision-making process.
