Rostom also highlighted the government’s efforts to coordinate entrepreneurship policies through the Ministerial Committee for Entrepreneurship, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs. He emphasised the importance of closer cooperation between different stakeholders in the startup ecosystem to help promising ventures develop into sustainable businesses capable of expanding across local, regional, and international markets.
As part of the government’s broader support initiatives, the minister reviewed the recently launched “100 Million Learners” initiative, developed in cooperation with Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University. The programme aims to provide advanced educational and training pathways in management, leadership, and entrepreneurship, strengthening the skills needed to establish and grow businesses.
The meeting also addressed progress on the government’s Executive Plan for Supporting Entrepreneurship and Startups, which seeks to establish a unified official definition of startups and facilitate their access to government incentives. Rostom directed officials to accelerate the development of the regulatory framework for the proposed “Billion-Dollar Startups Programme”, which aims to help at least five Egyptian companies achieve unicorn status, meaning a valuation of $1 billion or more, within five years. He also called for an accelerated launch timeline for the Startup Fund, which is expected to mobilise financing to support entrepreneurs and strengthen their capacity for regional and international expansion.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the initiatives form part of a broader national effort to strengthen Egypt’s entrepreneurship ecosystem by improving access to financing, developing business capabilities, and creating conditions that allow startups to grow into internationally competitive companies.
