Opening Remarks: Workshop for Registration and Compliance Procedures of SMES in Egypt

Workshop for

Registration and Compliance Procedures of SMES in Egypt

Social Dialogue for Formalisation and Employability in the Southern Neighbourhood

(SOLIFEM)

Cairo, 14 November 2023

Opening Remarks by

Ambassador Christian Berger

 EU Ambassador to Egypt

Dear partners and stakeholders

Dear ILO team,

Thank you for inviting me here today to attend the workshop for the registration and compliance procedures of SMEs in Egypt.  It is part of the EU/ILO co-funded regional project under implementation “Social Dialogue for Formalisation and Employability in the Southern Neighbourhood” SOLIFEM project.

The formalisation of the economy is a complex and long term process; the informal economy comprises more than half of the global labour force and more than 90 per cent of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) worldwide.

In Egypt around 56% of workers are informal 17% are irregular, and 70% of jobs are being created by small firms, which are likely to be informal.

Our joint EU/ILO action (SOLIFEM) aims at supporting the social partners in Egypt in enhancing the country’s economic resilience through formalisation.

The informal economy, which encompasses both the informal enterprises and informal jobs, is considerable, and we are glad to be with you today witnessing the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) adopting action to facilitate the transition of businesses to formality, while taking into account, not only the registration procedures but also the human-centred approach which shed the light on working conditions of those in the informal economy.

Together, we expect the Formalise Your Business (FYB) Tool to contribute to the increase of formalisation, which in turn, shall enhance the business prospective and the livelihood of many and hence prosperity. In simple words formalisation benefits society as a whole, and contributes to fairer societies.

I am glad to know that among us today, many companies have participated in the workshops and provided input to the success of the programme with increased productivity and better market access, and contribute to fair competition in national and international markets.

Let me underline the ongoing efforts by the workers organizations, with the support of SOLIFEM project, in addressing job informality and enhancing workers awareness on social protection and access to social insurance which provides support to at least a 1000 women and men accessing social insurance and memberships.

I would like to highlight here that numerous EU funded programmes complement each other to  support private  sector development in Egypt such as:  policy and strategic advice to the ministries on better regulation, including targeted support for MSMEDA, grant schemes to develop business skills, innovation and women in business, large programmes as TVET Egypt, equipping the workforce with the skills required for the jobs of today and tomorrow, or schemes to access finances for SMES where EU grants are pooled with loans provided by European Financial Institutions, with a focus on inclusion and innovation, fostering global transition to greener pathways and global solidarity.

So having the relevant skills empowers people to successfully navigate labour market changes, and to fully engage in society. It builds a better future for the Youth, more sustainable, more inclusive for more rewarding lives. For this reason, the EU announced this year 2023 as the EU Year of Skills.

We value very much the active engagement of the private sector and the Egyptian Federations and their efforts to close the gap between the supply and demand sides, in addition to the remarkable efforts of the Federations for the formalisation of the Egyptian economy.

Dear participants, I would like to thank you for being here today and wish you a fruitful interaction and good conclusion for setting a strong basis for success of all your efforts in this area.