The Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB), headed by Mohamed Abou Basha, stressed that the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade’s launch of the “Egypt Sub-Fund for Industrial Investment” represents an important strategic step toward enhancing the industrial sector’s capacity for growth and expansion, while opening new pathways for productive and export-oriented investments. This aligns with the state’s direction toward building a more productive and competitive economy capable of penetrating global markets.
The association stated that the fund represents a qualitative addition to the financing and investment ecosystem supporting the industrial sector, particularly amid high interest rates and financing costs that continue to pose growing challenges for industrial companies.
These conditions increase the cost of investment, expansion, and scaling up production capacity, which in turn affects production costs and the ability of Egyptian companies to compete in global markets.
It added that the importance of the fund extends beyond providing financing to directing capital toward industrial sectors with high added value and strong export potential, deepening local components, localizing technology, enhancing the competitiveness of Egyptian products, and increasing foreign currency inflows through export expansion.
The EJB views the state’s entry, through the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, into establishing a specialized industrial investment platform as a step that can help attract additional private capital and investment institutions, while creating partnerships with global investors and industrial companies. This could pave the way for establishing new projects, expanding existing ones, and transferring expertise and technology to the Egyptian market.
The association praised the government and the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade for their efforts to develop the investment environment, diversify financing tools, and enhance the Egyptian economy’s ability to attract productive investments. It emphasized that industry remains one of the key drivers of sustainable growth due to its contribution to job creation, local value addition, reducing reliance on imports, boosting exports, and strengthening the overall structure of the economy.
In this context, Eng. Shady Arafat, Head of the Industry and Energy Committee at the Egyptian Junior Business Association, stated that the launch of the fund represents a major initiative that could serve as a key driver of the state’s efforts to promote industrial development and exports. This is particularly important given that a large number of factories and industrial companies have clear plans to expand and increase their production capacities, while high financing costs and interest rates may undermine the economic feasibility of these plans and lead to delays in investment decisions.
Arafat added that the success of the fund will depend on its ability to provide genuine developmental financing and investment that supports the state’s industrial strategy, rather than treating it merely as a tool aimed at generating an investment return that exceeds the cost of borrowing. He stressed the importance of directing its investments toward companies and projects capable of increasing production, deepening local components, creating jobs, substituting imports, and expanding exports.
He explained that supporting export-oriented industrial companies represents one of the most important pillars of the fund’s success, given its direct impact on increasing exports and foreign currency inflows. He affirmed that building a strong industrial base capable of competing globally is the most sustainable path toward strengthening the state’s foreign currency reserves.
Eng. Shady Arafat, Head of the Industry and Energy Committee at the EJB, added that the initiative could present a significant opportunity for family businesses, startups, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represent a broad segment of Egypt’s economic fabric.
These businesses have strong potential to create jobs, increase added value, and expand productive activity, provided that financing and investment tools suited to their nature and different stages of growth are made available.
Arafat stressed the importance of announcing the fund’s operational mechanism and the criteria for selecting targeted companies and projects in the coming period. This will ensure greater clarity for the business community and enhance the ability of qualified companies to benefit from the initiative.
He noted that the EJB places its expertise and extensive member network at the service of this initiative, offering to contribute to raising awareness of the fund and its eligibility criteria, while nominating qualified industrial companies and projects that could benefit from it. This would help direct financing and investment toward companies best positioned to achieve the state’s industrial and export objectives.
Eng. Shady Arafat concluded by affirming the EJB’s aspiration that the fund will contribute to launching a new generation of Egyptian industrial companies capable of growing, expanding, and transforming into export-oriented enterprises that can compete strongly in regional and global markets. He also highlighted the potential for the fund to serve as a genuine platform for partnership between the state, the private sector, investors, and financial institutions.
Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt for Investment and Development, had issued a decree establishing the “Egypt Sub-Fund for Industrial Investment”, with a paid-up capital of EGP 500 million and authorized capital of EGP 10 billion. The fund aims to support export-oriented industrial companies, deepen local components, localize technology, increase production capacities, and boost foreign currency inflows.
The fund targets promising industrial sectors, including automotive components, electronics and electrical appliances, food and beverages, textiles and ready-made garments, and pharmaceuticals. It will focus on forging partnerships with the private sector and investment institutions, while investing in both existing and new industrial projects.
