Cairo: The Ministry of Social Solidarity and the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM Bari) are finalizing a plan to partner up in implementing a project in Upper Egypt’s Sohag. The project aims to fund micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) founded by youth and women in green industries. It also seeks to support informal businesses to transition into the formal sector and provide capacity-building to governmental bodies focused on entrepreneurship in Sohag.

According to State Information Service Egypt, Minister of Social Solidarity Maya Morsi and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Coalition for Civil Work Khaled Abdel Aziz signed a cooperation protocol in November. This agreement focuses on funding enterprises led by women and youth in villages included in the “Decent Life” initiative across six governorates: Aswan, Asyut, Beni Suef, Giza, Alexandria, and Daqahliyah. The initiative targets individuals aged 21 to 55, also extending the funding program to disabled individuals.

The program includes various training modules such as management, crafts, online marketing, micro-financing, veterinary care, insurance on poultry projects, and capital, along with assistance in sales. The second phase of the Decent Life Initiative commenced in July, backed by funds worth LE450 billion, and is slated for completion in three years.

Seventeen percent of the Egyptian population, residing in a total of 1,500 rural villages included in the first phase, have benefited from the Decent Life initiative over the past three years, with a cost of LE350 billion. In July, the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies (ECSS) released a report titled “The Villages of Egypt in 10 Years: From Marginalization to Decent Life,” highlighting the initiative’s aim to develop the countryside and improve the lives of 58 million people with a budget surpassing LE1 trillion.