Partnerships for local actions towards sustainable communities

Informal areas constitute a significant portion of Egypt’s urban landscape, accounting for 37% urban areas nationwide. These informal areas, which do not respect urban / land planning and building codes, considerably lack adequate access to basic services, public spaces and infrastructures. Notably, these informal areas are home to 60% of Greater Cairo’s population and represent the majority of the population growth.
Over the past decade, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA, ex Social Fund for Development SFD) has undertaken an increasing role in the development of informal areas and the improvement of the livelihoods of the poor and disadvantaged urban population, especially those in under-served and deprived urban areas in Egypt.
Broadly speaking, the sector has become an important facet of international cooperation between European Development Institutions and Egypt. In particular, the European Union (EU), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have played a crucial role in the past years. These institutions have allocated approximately EUR 300 million in this domain, comprising approximately EUR 170 million in grants and EUR 125 million in loans, contributing to the development of informal areas in 14 governorates in Egypt. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) together with MSMEDA has been major implementing partners of these programmes.
Through this collaborative spirit, MSMEDA, serving as an implementer of numerous EU-funded urban development projects, has consistently expressed its engagement towards enhancing existing physical and social infrastructure of informal areas, by prioritizing rehabilitation and upgrading efforts, improving urban services and public spaces. Central to these efforts is the active involvement of local actors, achieved through participatory approaches during project identification and execution, ensuring comprehensive consideration of community needs. In addition, the advancement of socio-economic development by supporting local initiatives and by fostering employment opportunities throughout project implementation remains a key element. All these efforts put forward by various stakeholders for local development and improvement of informal areas is apprehended as a component of urban development that can be integrated, promoted on a citywide scale, and scalable across cities.

Therefore, through the event, MSMEDA and key international partners such as the EU, AFD, BMZ, GIZ and EIB will share their collaborative experiences in integrated development of informal areas. Through discussions and exchanges, the aim would be to explore the strategies to enable cross-stakeholders partnerships for innovative localized actions for sustainable communities and resilient urban infrastructures.