African Development Bank Holds Egypt’s First Industrial and Trade Forum for Business Opportunities | African Development Bank

The African Development Bank, in collaboration with the Egyptian Commercial Services (ECS) Department of the Egyptian Ministry of Industry and Commerce, has concluded its first Industrial and Trade Business Opportunity Seminar (IT-BOS), dedicated to establishing business relationships with Egyptian manufacturers and exporters .

The one-day seminar, held on February 22, saw a record number of participants who expressed strong interest in strengthening ties with and exploring new business opportunities in Africa.

The meeting brought together industry, agricultural and private sector experts from 105 major Egyptian manufacturers and exporters with significant domestic and regional investment activity. The participating companies represented a broad sector of industrial and export councils, namely from the medical, fertilizer, building materials, engineering, chemical, mining, food processing and packaging industries.

Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, Director of the Industry and Trade Department of the African Development Bank, delivered the opening address on behalf of Solomon Quaynor, Vice President of Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization.

He emphasized the aim of the seminar: “to establish solid business relationships and explore cooperation opportunities with Egypt’s industrial business community for growth in the domestic market and to deepen Egypt’s regional integration in Africa.” He then presented the African Development Bank’s ten-year strategy, highlighting the “High 5” strategic priorities, with an emphasis on private sector development and job creation.

“African investment in Africa is below acceptable levels, Africa has endless business opportunities that are often unknown to companies in neighboring countries – a mortal sin in this information technology era. We need to develop a common business handbook to facilitate intra-African trade. We must proactively address the sources of the high cost of doing business within Africa,” emphasized Ambassador Mohamed El-Badry, Assistant to the Minister of African Affairs.

Dr. Scary. Sherif El Gabaly, head of the African affairs committee in the Egyptian parliament, praised the Bank and ECS for organizing the “timely meeting” with the Egyptian private sector. He added that Egypt has a long and deep relationship with the African Development Bank Group as a founding member and as the group’s second largest shareholder, but the country has mainly benefited from the public sector so far. He stressed that Egypt has a strong private sector with pioneering ideas and talent; and urged the Bank to “support non-sovereign operations that will boost Egypt’s strategic industrial sectors.”

The seminar was a great opportunity for the companies to proactively share their ambitions, challenges and opportunities in accessing and growing exports in African markets and exploring possible areas of cooperation.

Dr. Yousery El Sharkawy, President of the Egyptian African Businessmen Association, encouraged the Egyptian private sector community to “know the bank, stay close and knock on the door of the bank as it is committed to the sustainable growth of Egypt and a greater role in Africa’s regional integration.” He added that Egypt has a realistic view of ample trade and win-win opportunities with African sister countries, evidenced by the country’s emphasis on expanding Egypt’s regional alliances.

“This event is the first of its kind, in terms of focus, timeliness and the high level of private sector participation by the most strategic Egyptian manufacturers. We want a series of this event to be held on a regular basis to nurture the business relationship we have built today,” said Dr. Ghada Ali, a member of the Egyptian Parliament’s Economics Committee.

Yehia El Wathiq Bellah, minister plenipotentiary and head of Egypt’s commercial representation, stressed that the bank’s ten-year strategy is in line with Egypt’s 2030 vision, which calls for a balanced knowledge-based and export-based market economy. Therefore, Egypt should explore opportunities for private sector financing from the African Development Bank, he noted.

Samuel Kamara, country program officer for the Egypt office, represented the bank’s director general for North Africa, Mohamed El Azizi presented the country strategy paper for Egypt for 2022-2026. The participants also listened to presentations on the Bank’s financing tools and modalities, as well as its private sector involvement in the establishment of Special Agricultural Processing Zones in Africa. Although the Bank’s footprint is located in twenty member states, Egypt does not yet have access to the Bank’s expertise and funding in this sector, they heard.

Following the presentations, the Bank’s team engaged in business-to-business meetings to develop a comprehensive pipeline of Egyptian manufacturing and export projects eligible for potential bank financing. The event was moderated by Dr. Ghada Abuzaid, the bank’s chief industrial program coordinator, and Samuel Mugoya, advisor to the VP Private Sector, Infrastructure & Industrialization.