Egypt
Higher level vocational education and training (VET) programmes are facing rapid change and intensifying challenges. This report on Egypt examines what type of training is needed to meet the needs of a changing economy, how programmes should be funded, how theyshould be linked to academic and university programmes and how employers and unions can be engaged. The country reports in this series look at these and other questions. They form part of Skills beyond School, the OECD policy review of postsecondary vocational education and training.
This publication, “A Business Climate Development Strategy (BCDS) for the Arab Republic of Egypt – Making Private Sector Reform Succeed”, is a collaborative effort of the MENAOECD Investment Programme and the European Union Delegation in Cairo, led by the Egyptian Ministry for Investment. The MENA-OECD Investment Programme Steering Group mandated the Programme to conduct BCDS assessments of partnering countries during its 2007 Ministerial meeting in Cairo. The MENA-OECD Investment Programme would like to thank the Egyptian Minister for Investment, His Excellency Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, for his strong support during the length of this project.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to be a game-changer for the continent and for Egypt. The result of a long process of continental integration, AfCFTA could, and should, be a powerful tool for supporting the development and upgrading of industrial capabilities on the continent. Benefiting from enhanced continental ties is, however, not an automatic process, and targeted national strategies will be needed to make the most of an integrated Africa. This fourth chapter of the PTPR of Egypt presents a snapshot on AfCFTA, clarifies the potential opportunities it offers for Egypt, and identifies key policy areas to make the most of it.
Egypt is currently going through a historic period of change. This ongoing transition, triggered by the renewed impetus for democracy and social justice of the Egyptian people, demonstrated the importance of new empowering uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by both government and citizens.
Egypt is among Africa’s heavyweights, and a fast-growing economy. While the country reacted quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global outlook remains uncertain. To advance on its path to prosperity, Egypt needs to continue implementing effective reforms, relying on a continental agenda that prioritises trade integration and industrialisation, a government capable of implementing reforms and a private sector ready to leverage new drivers of competitiveness. The country needs to address some persistent structural challenges, which are hampering future progress, notably continuing upgrading infrastructure, transforming its economic specialisation, innovating more and benefiting more from trade. Despite progress, the reforms agenda for Egypt remains vast. Among several areas, three issues appear as game changers for future reforms: i) investing in making the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) a real development driver; ii) engaging the private sector in innovation and; iii) getting the policy-making process ready for the future.
Egypt is implementing ambitious reforms to stabilise its economy, attract investors, and spur durable economic growth. These efforts are having a positive effect. Since 2013, GDP growth has doubled, reaching 5.5% in 2019, its highest level in almost a decade, according to the Central bank of Egypt (CBE). Foreign investment inflows have been steadily increasing since 2011, and despite more modest inflows over the past two years, in 2018 Egypt was the largest recipient of FDI in Africa and the second highest in the MENA region. Both the budget and current account deficit have narrowed, and unemployment is decreasing, from 13% to 7.5% by the second quarter of 2019. These positive gains will be tested in the near- to medium-term. Initial projections on the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic portend declines in FDI in all economies for the coming year at least, along with disruptions to global value chains. A global recession appears likely. The steps the Egyptian government has taken to address its economic challenges, in recent years and in response to the pandemic, may help it weather some of the negative impacts of the current crisis. The new outlook makes continuing to advance Egypt’s reform agenda all the more imperative.
Currently, there are insufficient data in Egypt to support the development of strong career guidance services for students across different institutions. Stronger data and information might help career guidance services to collaborate more effectively in matching vocational education and training (VET) graduates labour market demand and supply; support the vocational choices of students and avoid dropout. This chapter sets out recommendations to address this challenge and develop better data systems.
The Business Climate Development Strategy (BCDS) assessment can provide timely insights on structural policy reforms that should be introduced to further improve the business climate and continue to attract investment into the economy. This chapter summarises the findings of a recent assessment of the Egyptian business climate carried out by the MENA-OECD Investment Programme. The BCDS analysis has produced important insights into the state of Egypt’s current business climate. The results presented here are grouped in two categories, going from broader insights to ones that are more specific and detailed. First, cross-dimensional findings are insights pertinent to several of the twelve BCDS dimensions. They identify common challenges that have been encountered in different parts of government. These findings matter to policy makers since they typically represent governance or managerial shortcomings that can be addressed and potentially leveraged across several topic areas. Second, dimension-specific findings summarise the main achievements and key remaining challenges and areas for improvement in the 12 dimensions covered by the BCDS.
The recent global financial and economic crisis has starkly underlined the need to establish and maintain effective public institutions to oversee efficient markets and favour sustainable private sector development. Based on recent work on economic growth and sustainable development a consensus has emerged among the international development community that private-sector led economic development strategies are essential to guaranteeing sustainable growth and longterm job creation. The Business Climate Development Strategy (BCDS), developed by the Private Sector Development Division at the OECD, builds on a number of tools referenced in the OECD’s Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) and which provide a checklist of important policy issues for consideration by any government interested in creating an attractive business environment for domestic and international investors. This chapter discusses how the BCDS methodology was derived and the criteria used to establish the scores for the BCDS ranking system.
Addressing a number of challenges is key to the successful development and implementation of e-government. While some challenges in Egypt are strictly e-government related, a great number are general to the functioning of the government but also affect e-government.
This chapter presents the organisational challenges and challenges in terms of budgetary processes and decisions. Although the review does not address the overall communication infrastructure of Egypt, it highlights the main issues in terms of current capacity and infrastructural challenges. Furthermore, regulatory challenges are presented; and the challenge posed by the digital divide is discussed, a key obstacle for increasing use of online services.
At a moment when many countries of the MENA region are looking to accelerate economic growth and build more stable, open societies, this report argues that greater women’s economic empowerment holds one of the keys. It asserts that despite challenges some countries are facing in guaranteeing women equal access to economic opportunity, progress is underway and can be further nurtured through targeted, inclusive and coordinated policy actions. Building on the conclusions of a first monitoring report released in 2017, the report analyses recent legislative, policy and institutional reforms in support of women’s economic empowerment in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia and seeks to identify success factors that have helped anchor reform. Moreover, it delivers actionable examples and practical tools for policy makers to help them transform policies into effective actions for women’s economic empowerment.
The OECD assessment is the first phase of a Business Climate Development Strategy (BCDS) which identifies policy priorities and proposes specific reforms and actions to enable Egypt to achieve measurable improvements in its business climate. One key finding is that Egypt’s investment and trade policy reforms have moved the country’s business climate closer to best practice in OECD economies. However, the report notes that to attract further private investment, Egypt needs to improve the country’s anti-corruption measures, skills development, infrastructure and access to finance, especially for the country's small-and-medium sized enterprises. BCDS Egypt offers specific recommendations on how policies, institutions and regulations can be improved to increase predictability for investors and make Egypt a prime investment destination.
This review was carried out as part of the wider MENA-OECD Investment Programme. It uses a new BCDS methodology that evaluates the business climate in 12 policy areas and draws on core OECD instruments, such as the Policy Framework for Investment (PFI), which have been successfully applied in other countries. By helping countries prioritise their actions and build consensus among stakeholders, the BCDS process supports the successful implementation of reforms to develop the private sector in the MENA region.
Egypt has made impressive strides with regard to improving its business environment in recent years. So far, much of the government’s reform effort has focused on improving the macro-economic framework. This is the case with regard to policies such as banking sector reform, income-tax reform, improving the monetary policy framework, opening up the capital account and allowing free and unhindered capital transfers, and the lowering of average weighted tariffs. Despite these improvements, Egypt still does not fulfill its potential as a highgrowth economy, or to become the prime investment location warranted by its geographical position. Foreign investment still accounts for less than one-third of all investment, and FDI inflows fell between mid-2008 and end-2009. The competition for global investment is fierce and a country such as Egypt should no longer count on low costs to attract investors. To attract high value-added investors, a better overall investment climate is needed. This chapter presents the conclusions to the Business Climate Development Strategy findings for Egypt and finishes by inviting the Egyptian government to pursue its reform efforts in order to achieve its growth objectives.
The Arab Republic of Egypt is a unitary country. It gained its independence in 1922 and it was declared a Republic in 1953. The chief of state is the President, who is elected by absolute majority popular vote for a term of six years, renewable. Administratively, Egypt’s local government is organised in three levels: governorates, regions and districts. The country has 27 governorates and their governors are appointed by the President.