
OECDStudiesonSMEsandEntrepreneurship SMEandEntrepreneurshipPolicyinEgypt OECDStudiesonSMEsandEntrepreneurship SMEandEntrepreneurshipPolicyinEgypt Thisdocument,aswellasanydataandmapincludedherein,arewithoutprejudicetothestatusoforsovereigntyoveranyterritory,tothedelimitationofinternationalfrontiersandboundariesandtothenameofanyterritory,cityorarea. ThestatisticaldataforIsraelaresuppliedbyandundertheresponsibilityoftherelevantIsraeliauthorities.TheuseofsuchdatabytheOECDiswithoutprejudicetothestatusoftheGolanHeights,EastJerusalemandIsraelisettlementsintheWestBankunderthetermsofinternationallaw. Pleasecitethispublicationas: OECD(2025),SMEandEntrepreneurshipPolicyinEgypt,OECDStudiesonSMEsandEntrepreneurship,OECDPublishing,Paris,https://doi.org/10.1787/195d9c43-en. ISBN978-92-64-84650-0(print) ISBN978-92-64-35297-1(PDF) ISBN978-92-64-67648-0(HTML) OECDStudiesonSMEsandEntrepreneurshipISSN2078-0982(print) ISSN2078-0990(online) Photocredits:Cover©AntonAleksenko/GettyImages. CorrigendatoOECDpublicationsmaybefoundat:https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/support/corrigenda.html. ©OECD2025 Attribution4.0International(CCBY4.0) ThisworkismadeavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution4.0Internationallicence.Byusingthiswork,youaccepttobeboundbythetermsofthislicence(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Attribution–youmustcitethework. Translations–youmustcitetheoriginalwork,identifychangestotheoriginalandaddthefollowingtext:Intheeventofanydiscrepancybetweentheoriginalworkandthetranslation,onlythetextoforiginalworkshouldbeconsideredvalid. Adaptations–youmustcitetheoriginalworkandaddthefollowingtext:ThisisanadaptationofanoriginalworkbytheOECD.TheopinionsexpressedandargumentsemployedinthisadaptationshouldnotbereportedasrepresentingtheofficialviewsoftheOECDorofitsMembercountries. Third-partymaterial–thelicencedoesnotapplytothird-partymaterialinthework.Ifusingsuchmaterial,youareresponsibleforobtainingpermissionfromthethirdpartyandforanyclaimsofinfringement. YoumustnotusetheOECDlogo,visualidentityorcoverimagewithoutexpresspermissionorsuggesttheOECDendorsesyouruseofthework. AnydisputearisingunderthislicenceshallbesettledbyarbitrationinaccordancewiththePermanentCourtofArbitration(PCA)ArbitrationRules2012.TheseatofarbitrationshallbeParis(France).Thenumberofarbitratorsshallbeone. Foreword ThispublicationpresentsanOECDcountryreviewofsmallandmedium-sizedenterprise(SME)andentrepreneurshippolicyinEgypt.ItwaspreparedaspartoftheOECD-EgyptCountryProgrammeandformspartoftheseriesofOECDCountryReviewsonSMEandEntrepreneurshipPolicyundertakenbytheOECDCentreforEntrepreneurship,SMEs,RegionsandCities. ThesereviewsprovidegovernmentsfromparticipatingcountrieswithatoolforassessingthedesignandimplementationoftheirSMEandentrepreneurshippoliciesandtheiralignmentwiththeOECDCouncilRecommendationonSMEandEntrepreneurshipPolicy.InadditiontoEgypt,thisseriesofcountryreviewshascoveredcountriesincludingBrazil,Canada,Indonesia,Ireland,Israel,Italy,Kazakhstan,Mexico,Poland,theSlovakRepublic,ThailandandVietNam. Thereviewsaredevelopedusingastandardmethodology.Thisincludesadiagnosticquestionnairecompletedbynationalgovernmentauthorities,afact-findingmissionbyanOECDteamtoholddetailedinterviewswithpolicyandbusinessstakeholders,anddiscussionofadraftreportatapeerreviewsessionintheOECDCommitteeonSMEsandEntrepreneurship(CSMEE). Thecountryreviewstypicallyincludesathematicchapteronissuesofspecialrelevanceforthereviewedcountry,asagreedbetweentheOECDandthecountryconcerned.Thisreviewhastwothematicchapters,onefocusingonSMEdigitalisationandtheotherexaminingtheroleoffintechinpromotingSMEandentrepreneurshipdevelopmentinEgypt. ThereportshowsthatEgyptismakingstridesinadvancingtheSMEandentrepreneurshipeconomy.Ithasastrongentrepreneurialspirit,agrowingstart-upsceneandalargepopulationofmicro,smallandmedium-sizedenterprises(MSMEs)andentrepreneurs.Prioritiesaretogrowmoremedium-sized,innovativeandexport-orientedSMEs,boostproductivityandincreasebusinessformalisation. Thegovernmenthasastrongpolicyagendainplacetoachievetheseaims.IthasrecognisedtheimportanceofSMEsandentrepreneurstothefuturedevelopmentofthecountry,andmadeanumberofimportantpolicyreforms,includingtheintroductionofLawNumber152of2020ontheDevelopmentofMicro,SmallandMediumEnterprises,whichsetsoutthedefinitionofthesector,theeligibilityforpolicysupports,thebudgetefforttobeappliedtoSMEandentrepreneurshipdevelopmentandthemainfinancialandnon-financialsupporteffortstobeused. TheMicro,SmallandMediumEnterprisesDevelopmentAgency(MSMEDA)hastheleadresponsibilityforMSMEandentrepreneurshipdevelopmentinthecountryandhasdevelopedarangeofeffectivesupportinstruments.ItworksincollaborationwithotherkeyagenciesinthisareaincludingtheGeneralAuthorityforInvestmentandFreeZones(GAFI)andtheEgyptEntrepreneurshipandInnovationCentre(EEIC).MSMEDAplaysakeyroleinpolicyco-ordination,alongsidetheCentralBankofEgyptandotherpublicactors. Inordertoreinforcethesepositivedevelopments,futurepolicydevelopmentprioritiesincludefurthereasingoftheregulatoryburden,improv