On 11 February 2011, President Mubarak was removed from office after almost 30 years in power. His resignation followed unprecedented street protests against poverty, unemployment and repression.
Since the fall of Mubarak, Egypt has made significant progress. Free and fair Presidential elections have been held and civilian control over the state has been restored. However, the economic situation is fragile. Falling investment and rising unemployment has lowered growth prospects for the country, hitting women and youth particularly hard.
DFID is providing support to help ensure that Egypt makes the transition to inclusive and sustainable growth that creates jobs and opportunities for everyone.
Arab Partnership Fund
In response to the Arab Spring the UK set up the Arab Partnership Programme, run jointly by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). The aim of the programme is to build politically and economically open and inclusive societies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The programme is made up of two components:
The £70 million Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), run by DFID, focuses on ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic development.
APEF has five priority countries - Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan - and carries out both country-level and regional projects. Our programmes aim to promote:
- Job creation through assisting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and enhancing young people's skills
- Economic growth through increased cross-border trade and improved productivity
- Effective institutions that are transparent and accountable for government spending
The £40 million Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), run by FCO, focuses on political participation, freedom of expression and political governance.
To find out more about the Arab Partnership, download the Arab Partnership ePamphlet. You can also explore our projects using an interactive google map or follow us on twitter @ArabPartnership.
Country-level projects
In Egypt, APEF is supporting the following projects:
- Support Egypt's small farmers to boost yields through a MercyCorps project designed to provide access to capital, business development services and technical assistance among enterprises which serve small farmers.
- Scale up social enterprises in poor rural areas, focussing on agricultural supply chains, through provision of grants, technical assistance and market access support. The Development Marketplace project is run by the World Bank.
- We are supporting the Egypt Network for Integrated Development to carry out research into policy solutions to Egypt's economic challenges. Working in some of Egypt's most marginalised communities and focussing on women and youth, the programme will provide evidence to feed into the drafting of the new constitution and pilot economic projects that can be scaled up.
Regional programmes
Egypt will also benefit from multilateral regional programmes that we are contributing to as part of a coordinated donor response. These include:
- £6.8 million to the World Bank/International Finance Corporation to increase access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) to benefit more than 250,000 enterprises
- £1.9 million to the International Finance Corporation's Education for Employment Initiative, delivering tailored training that responds to business needs to get 114,000 young people prepared for work
- £5 million to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to promote private sector development and creation of over 4,000 jobs
- £5 million to the World Bank Multi-Donor Trust Fund to accelerate sustainable growth, create jobs and promote economic and social inclusion
- £2.5 million to the Carnegie Middle East Centre to strengthen research capacity in the region
Conflict Pool
The Conflict Pool brings together DFID, the MOD and the FCO in an attempt to develop a coherent approach to conflict prevention across the globe.
The Conflict Pool supports activities that seek to reduce the number of people around the world whose lives are, or might be, affected by violent conflict. The Pool funds conflict prevention, stabilisation and peacekeeping activities. There is a dedicated Middle East regional pool.
More information is available at the FCO Conflict Pool page.