Mahmoud Shaarawy, Minister of Local Development, said that the national project for community, human, and local development, Mashro'ak, pumped funds amounting to about EGP 21.4bn to finance 183,000 diversified projects, pointing out that these projects contributed to providing more than 1.2 million job opportunities. Sharawy pointed out that Mashro'ak contributed during October 2021 only to the implementation of 2500 projects, with loans of EGP 500m, which provided nearly 20,000 job opportunities in all governorates. Shaarawy added that Mashro'ak is a gateway for young people to entrepreneurship, by granting them soft loans, to implement national projects that help support the national economy. According to Shaarawy, Minya governorate came first in terms of the number of projects financed through the programme, with 21,000 projects with loans close to EGP 2.5bn, followed by Sohag with 19,000 projects with loans of EGP 2.2bn, Beheira with 19,000 projects with loans of EGP 1.5bn, Daqahleya with 15,500 projects with loans of EGP 1.7bn, then Sharqeya with 15,000 projects with loans of EGP 2.3bn, and Beni Suef with 14,000 projects with loans of EGP 1.5bn. Shaarawy pointed out that the ministry trained and upgraded the skills of 1,000 employees in Mashro'ak through specialized courses, which helped in dealing well with those wishing to obtain loans, providing added value to their projects and creating a network of relationships with agencies and entities supporting small projects. In a related context, Sharawy referred to the "Your Work in Your Village" initiative, implemented by the ministry in coordination with the Federation of Industries and Ayady Company, and is a model for strengthening partnership with the private sector, which obtains a plot of land with usufruct rights for a period of up to 25 years. He said that this initiative achieved remarkable success in Qaliubiya governorate, where 13 factories were established on plots of land owned by the governorate, providing about 4,000 job opportunities. He emphasized that the main objective of the current phase of Mashro'ak is to focus on the quality of projects and services provided, with the aim of reaching support projects with high technological value to produce products that serve many segments of society.
