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Supporting employment and improving living conditions in deprived neighborhoods

Project

This project is carried out with the support of the European Union

Project start date
Status

Ongoing

Project end date
AFD financing amount
80000000 €
Country and region
Egypt
Location
Cairo
Type of financing
Sovereign loan
Beneficiaries
Egyptian State
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The content of this project information sheet falls under the sole responsibility of the AFD and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the European Union.

With over 85 million inhabitants on 6% of the territory and population growth at some 2% a year, Egypt is faced with an urbanization of poverty: informal neighborhoods are home to 60% of Cairo’s population. Young graduates or unskilled youth particularly suffer from unemployment, which is increasing, due to the lack of job creation. This situation is especially sensitive in the context of the economic difficulties which have been continuing since 2011.

Context

The urbanization of poverty is particularly high in Greater Cairo, which today has some 18 million inhabitants and concentrates both: a large proportion of urban growth in Egypt, and the greatest urbanization constraints. The unplanned informal neighborhoods are home to 60% of Cairo’s population and account for 79% of demographic growth.

Description

The project is part of an integrated community development program involving AFD, the European Investment Bank (EIB), Germany’s GIZ and the European Union. It is implemented by the Social Fund for Development (SFD). The aim is to:

  • Improve living conditions for populations in two informal neighborhoods in Cairo (Ezbet Kheir-Allah and Al-Zawya al-Hamra) and two informal neighborhoods in Giza (Ard el-Lewa and Mit Oqba) by financing small-scale, high labor-intensive rehabilitation works. They are financed by a grant delegated to AFD by the European Union’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF).
  • Promote job creation and income generation in deprived areas by supporting SME access to credit. It is being financed by the SFD via an AFD credit line.

Impacts

  • Allocation of loans to 80,000 microenterprises and 1,250 small enterprises during the first 4 years of the use of the funds by the SFD, which will create or secure some 95,000 jobs.
  • Construction or improvement works for basic infrastructure in 4 informal neighborhoods in Greater Cairo, which are home to some 1.2 million people.
  • Improvement in population consultation processes thanks to a participatory approach (involvement of residents in the study aiming to identify priority needs in informal neighborhoods).
  • Technical assistance, which aims to build the capacities of the entities responsible for the implementation of works, the SFD teams, its financial intermediaries and microenterprises and small enterprises (the final beneficiaries).

Contracts awarded under the project

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