The Financial Dimensions of the Entrepreneurship Environment Supporting Small Enterprises: An Applied Study

Abstract

Small and micro enterprises play a very important role in supporting the Egyptian economy, as they contribute to achieving sustainable development in its economic, social and political dimensions, especially when the state suffers from scarcity of natural resources and the main investment available to it is in the human element, and this is evidenced by the fact that the Social Fund for Development pumped Financing loans for small and micro projects, where the total actual disbursement to the final beneficiary amounted to about 2.4 billion pounds, which financed about 113.7 thousand small and micro projects that provided about 162.5 thousand job opportunities, and the total grants spent on infrastructure, community development and training amounted to (376.2) million pounds It provided 6.1 million work days, in addition to 4,753 job opportunities during the training. With the belief of the political leaders in Egypt in the importance of small and medium enterprises in supporting the national economy and providing job opportunities for young people, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi launched an initiative in early 2016, instructing the Central Bank of Egypt to provide 200 billion pounds to support small and medium enterprises with an interest rate not exceeding 5%. The CBE increased loans to small and medium enterprises, calling for 20% of credit portfolios within 4 years, with a total of 200 billion pounds. It also asked banks to present their strategies to achieve this goal within 4 years, The study concluded with several findings, the most important of which is the key role of national initiatives in supporting small businesses in the Egyptian environment. And the role of entrepreneurship in developing the national economy. Keywords: Entrepreneurship – Small enterprises – Egyptian environment