For the first time, and following consultations lasting more than a year between 15 national entities and over 250 representatives from the startup community, entrepreneurs, and members of parliamentary councils, under the umbrella of the Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship, the Arab Republic of Egypt has launched the “Startup Charter in Egypt.”
This represents a pioneering milestone in the government’s approach to engaging with the startup sector, entrepreneurs, and innovators, in line with the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to provide full support to startups.
The launch event was attended by Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation and Head of the Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship, along with other ministers who are members of the group.
Also present were members of the technical secretariat and working groups, including representatives from startups, venture capital funds, and supporting entities, coinciding with the 13th annual edition of the “Rise Up” Startup Summit.
Strengthening Startup Capabilities
The “Startup Charter” serves as a framework to enhance the capacity of startups and the entrepreneurship ecosystem, aiming to achieve sustainable and accelerated economic growth based on competitiveness and knowledge, while contributing to the creation of decent job opportunities.
The Charter sets out strategic goals to be achieved over the next five years, including coordinating entrepreneurship-supportive policies to empower up to 5,000 startups.
It also aims to maximize the economic impact of startups, potentially creating around 500,000 direct and indirect jobs, accelerate expansion into international markets, develop local talent to reduce brain drain, encourage venture capital, attract startup investments through a unified financing initiative, and link pressing challenges across various sectors with innovative solutions from startups.
An Executive Tool
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat emphasized that the Charter is not merely a theoretical document but a flexible, continuously evolving executive tool. It is a first step toward updating policies and legislation related to startups in Egypt, in line with technological developments and market needs.
She noted that the priorities outlined in the Charter were determined through extensive consultations with relevant entities and the entrepreneurship community to foster a sustainable, stimulating business environment based on practical steps and clear objectives to support innovation and encourage investment.
Unified Definition of Startups
The Charter provides a unified definition of startups: newly established companies characterized by rapid growth, flexibility, and innovation, aiming to deliver or develop a product, service, or innovative business model in the market.
This unified definition allows startups to benefit from a range of incentives and facilities by obtaining a classification certificate from Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) authorities.
The Unified Financing Initiative
Dr. Al-Mashat added that the Charter includes a unified financing initiative aimed at coordinating available financial resources across government entities and activating innovative mechanisms to maximize their impact up to fourfold.
The initiative targets mobilizing $1 billion over five years for the startup sector through government resources, guarantees, joint investments with venture capital funds, and other private sector investment and financing entities.
The Unified Startup Guide
The Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship has also prepared a comprehensive guidance manual encompassing all services, permits, and government licenses required by startups, including fees, required documents, and issuance steps. This aims to help startups understand legal and regulatory requirements, facilitate market entry and expansion, prevent violations, improve compliance, and enable startups to benefit from available government incentives, thereby enhancing Egypt’s entrepreneurship ecosystem through clarity and regulatory transparency. The Charter was prepared in collaboration with Entlaq and UN Women.
Procedures and Policies to Improve the Startup Business Environment
Additionally, the Charter outlines a set of procedures to bridge operational gaps and enable startups to benefit from government incentives. This includes mechanisms already implemented, such as crowdfunding, as well as short- and medium-term measures to improve the startup business environment.
These include simplifying tax procedures, facilitating liquidation and exit processes, conducting comprehensive studies to identify regulatory and procedural challenges in priority sub-sectors, and proposing practical solutions aligned with the nature of their activities.
Scale-Up Program for Startups
To ensure focus on startups at all growth stages, the Charter includes a program to empower startups at the scale-up stage. This program aims to enhance growth, enable expansion through public offerings or strategic exits, attract investments from major international institutions, and strengthen regional and global expansion using multiple government tools, ultimately aiming to create new unicorn companies in the Egyptian market.
Monitoring Observatory
Dr. Al-Mashat highlighted that the Charter includes an observatory for monitoring entrepreneurship policies. The observatory will collect and analyze data related to policy implementation, growth and investment support, and challenges facing startups, while issuing periodic reports to support decision-making. Representatives from the entrepreneurship community will participate to monitor implementation, assess progress, and provide recommendations to the Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship. The observatory also includes a Council of Elders composed of entrepreneurship community representatives to ensure direct oversight and evaluation of progress.
It is noteworthy that in September 2024, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly issued a decision establishing a specialized ministerial group for entrepreneurship, aimed at enhancing startup capabilities and the entrepreneurship ecosystem to achieve sustainable and accelerated economic growth based on competitiveness and knowledge, while contributing to the creation of decent job opportunities.
Source: Press Release
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