Egypt Accelerates Women’s Entrepreneurship with Bold New Initiatives at ‘She Can’ Conference

Editorial Team

Last updated 14-04-2025

4 min

At the 'She Can' conference, Dr Rania Al-Mashat highlighted initiatives to empower Egyptian women entrepreneurs.

Significant investments in women's education, healthcare, and employment are expected to reach 300 billion pounds.

'She Trades Egypt' and 'She Leads' projects aim to enhance market access for female entrepreneurs.

The 'Gender Gap Accelerator' project seeks to reduce economic inequalities between men and women.

Online 'Hafiz' platform connects private sector and startups with international funding and mentorship.

At the recent 'She Can' conference held at the Egyptian Digital Creativity Centre in Giza—now in its tenth successful year—Egypt's Minister of Planning and Economic Development and International Cooperation, Dr Rania Al-Mashat, discussed a range of initiatives aimed at empowering Egyptian women economically and socially. The conference's primary mission is to champion women entrepreneurs and support the further growth of small and medium-sized businesses across the country.

Dr Al-Mashat's speech celebrated the impressive resilience of Egyptian women, who continually prove their ability to thrive despite challenges. She highlighted the vital role women constantly play in creating and leveraging opportunities in various key fields like science, politics and, importantly, entrepreneurship.

"Egyptian women consistently make their mark through remarkable achievements recognised nationwide," she said, emphasizing the unwavering role the Ministry places on gender inclusion in all their current strategies and projects.

In her remarks, the Minister illustrated ongoing efforts to build a conducive business ecosystem for female entrepreneurs, including financing initiatives, training programmes, and enhanced access to both local and international markets. Collaborating closely with local partners as well as global institutions, these projects are central to the Ministry's agenda.

Notably, investments dedicated specifically to women's projects in education, healthcare, employment, and social welfare have seen significant growth. From 2020/2021 through to 2024/2025, these investments are expected to reach around 300 billion Egyptian pounds, directly contributing to women's active involvement in Egypt's ongoing economic development.

Among the key initiatives Dr Al-Mashat mentioned is 'She Trades Egypt,' a project carried out alongside the National Council for Women, the Ministry of Trade, and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation. Its goal is simple yet impactful—boosting the competitiveness of women entrepreneurs to enhance their ability to penetrate both local and global markets.

Another notable partnership is 'She Leads', a well-received initiative developed in cooperation with the National Council for Women, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education and the Young Leaders Foundation. It seeks to empower technically educated female graduates through dedicated training and mentoring opportunities, shining a spotlight on their achievements.

Additionally, Dr Al-Mashat introduced the ongoing 'Gender Gap Accelerator' project, launched in partnership with the World Economic Forum and engaging private sector collaborators. Its purpose: reducing inequalities in economic participation, opportunities, salaries, and overall empowerment between men and women. Egypt is notably one of the earliest nations in the Middle East and Africa to participate in this global effort.

All these initiatives and more are conveniently accessible on the online 'Hafiz' platform run by the Ministry, designed to connect the private sector—including startups—with international developmental funding, mentorship, and technical assistance.

Beyond these initiatives, Al-Mashat brought attention to other Ministry-led programmes such as the 'Equal Opportunities and Women's Empowerment Award,' which is part of Egypt's Government Excellence Awards. Another highlight was the 'Women Lead Programme', a partnership developed alongside the National Training Academy, nurturing next-generation female leadership.

Reflecting on broader entrepreneurial support, she explained the recent formation of the Ministerial Entrepreneurship Group. This governmental collective strongly supports women-led startups, establishes more favourable conditions to attract funding into women-owned businesses, and coordinates cross-government strategies to enhance the entrepreneurial scene nationally.

Groups under this ministerial umbrella are currently drafting a unified startup definition, examining ways to streamline startup procedures (which'll hopefully cut down the bureacracy entrepreneurs often face), assessing incentives to encourage bigger corporate investments in startups, and stemming the tide of promising Egyptian startups relocating abroad.

In related news, alongside the key conference events, the finals for the Aurora Tech Award were also taking place, with Tamer Taha, Dr Al-Mashat's advisor on entrepreneurship and innovation, participating as a judge. This tech-driven award actively supports female founders of startups, specifically within the technology sector.

With events and initiatives such as these increasingly gaining momentum, Arageek readers will surely find inspiration in Egypt's forward stride towards embracing equality and innovation for future generations of women entrepreneurs.

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