Egyptian Entrepreneurship Director Champions Women's Economic Empowerment at She Can Summit

Dr. Heba Medhat Zaki, Director of the Egypt Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, affiliated with the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, represented Dr. Hala El-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, at the She Can Summit, organized annually by Interpreneurs on the occasion of International Women's Day.

During her speech, Dr. Heba Zaki emphasized that women's economic empowerment requires a comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach, explaining that Egypt has pursued a strategy focusing on four main axes: access to resources, education and skills development, reproductive health, and favorable political environment.

Regarding national efforts to enhance women's economic empowerment, Dr. Heba Zaki pointed to the Takaful and Karama program, a cornerstone of the Egyptian state's integrated approach to social protection policies, and the "Decent Life" initiative, which aims to improve the lives of citizens in rural Egypt. She noted that it started in 2019, covering 4,500 villages, placing women's economic empowerment at the forefront. Zaki added that the Decent Life initiative addresses multidimensional poverty and unemployment rates by improving economic, social, and environmental standards, highlighting the initiative's success in reaching over 3.1 million registered beneficiary families across 27 governorates, with 12 million beneficiaries, of which women constitute about 75%. The program also links bank accounts to social protection programs, ensuring that targeted women beneficiaries have access to financial services and enhancing their money management capabilities effectively.

Dr. Heba Zaki also affirmed the role of the Ministry of Planning and the National Institute for Governance in contributing to women's economic empowerment through various programs, including the "She for Digital Future" initiative, which aims to digitally literacy women.

In conclusion, Dr. Heba Zaki emphasized the role of various activities offered by the Egypt Center to support youth in turning their innovative ideas into startups that contribute to driving development, with programs targeting women entrepreneurs, noting that the participation of women in Egypt Center programs has reached 58% of the total participants in the various activities offered by the center.