Dr. Rania Al-Mashat discusses Egyptian entrepreneurship and innovation

In this month’s episode of Marketplace Middle East, CNN’s Eleni Giokos travels to Egypt and speaks to Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, as the country prepares to host COP 27.

Mashat is at the forefront of Egypt’s strategy to encourage foreign direct investment. She tells Giokos about how the government is securing investments in its projects, “When we look at countries trying to move forward on their development agendas, of course, budget provides a key resource, but also private sector investments are important. And also international partnerships with multilateral development banks and development partners. So, there are different types of financing.”

In terms of entrepreneurship and innovation, Mashat says that Egypt’s future is looking bright, “We have a demographic which is quite impressive, 60% of the population below the age of 30. Innovation and creativity exist, access to digital spaces there, and therefore, what we’ve seen over the past few years, a very vibrant and developing startup scene.”

For Mashat, remaining laser-focused on growth sectors is vital during times of uncertainty. “We’re moving ahead on different structural reforms that will open up also investing opportunities for sectors. So Egypt, I think, over the years, has shown a lot of resilience. And that is something that we feel, despite hiccups, there is there is a medium to long term trajectory that we’re very confident about.”

Watch Eleni Giokos’ interview with Dr. Rania Al-Mashat Now:

On the latest Marketplace Middle East, @EleniGiokos spoke to @RaniaAlMashat about entrepreneurship and innovation in Egypt.

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