British Egyptian Business Association Hosts Breakfast Briefing on National Initiative for Smart Green Projects

NISGP Drives Force for British-Egyptian Collaboration in Combating Climate Change

The British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) hosted a breakfast briefing entitled “The National Initiative for Smart Green Projects: Strategic Public-Private Partnerships for Boosting Green Economy in Egypt.” On Wednesday June 26, 2024 to explore the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects (NISGP), a programme designed to foster collaboration between public and private sectors to accelerate Egypt’s green economy. 

Nadia Lamloum BEBA’s CEO made a number of announcement regarding forthcoming events and welcomed the visiting UK delegation headed by the EBCC. She then gave the floor to Maged Ezz El Din Country Senior  Partner and Deals Leader at PWC, to deliver the  opening remarks on behalf of Khaled Nosseir Chairman of BEBA. Mr. Ezz El Din. Mr. Ezz El Din recognised the main sponsors, Banque Du Caire and the events partners EBank, CIB Egypt, GSK, Vodafone, HBC, Coca-Cola, NEW ERA, Uppingham Cairo, Tatweer Misr, and Suez Canal Bank.

Amb. Hisham Badr, Assistant Minister for Strategic Partnerships & Initiatives, Ministry of Planning & Economic Development and, General supervisor of the Egypt Government Excellence Award, highlighted  the essential role of the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects. He also referred to the role of the media in shaping practices.

“There is a lot of talk about climate change. However, the different edge of this initiative is that it is about action”, said Amb. Hisham.

“As Egypt hosted the mega Cop 27 in Sharm El Shiekh in 2022, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, our Climate Champion, raised a question about the significance of the significance of that event to the ordinary Egyptian man and woman”, remarked Hisham, adding that “Egypt’s President made a clear statement that this conference is about implementing commitments, whether financial commitment at value $100billion or the commitment of adaption and naturalization and how can Africa go forward,” He added.

He highlighted that the national initiative, introduced by Dr. Mohammed Mohie El Din, was launched under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to be mainly about localization.  It was an “unprecedented step” by the country for “empowering people”. Further, he said that the initiative gives access to whoever has a smart or green project to submit his project’s idea online.

Then, he referred to some of the case studies that have significant success driven by this initiative, including the $2-million Canal Suez Co., which happens to be a winner in round two for using green technology. Another awardee from Suez Canal University offered cutting-edge solutions for controlling pests with AI to preserve date production from the most significant threat ever. Besides, he referred to the initiative’s role in empowering women-owned businesses in the Egyptian governorates such as Aswan, either through capacity building or funding. 

Furthermore, Amb. Hisham highlighted that the initiative offers competition for smart and green projects at various scales, startups, gender-related projects, and NGOs in different governorates. In this regard, criteria-fulfilling projects can submit a request, whether for problem-solving, funding, project mapping, or capacity building. Among these criteria are the replicability and the feasibility of the projects.

“As the world testifies a new era regarding climate change, the initiative is about turning adversity into opportunity, turning trash into treasure,” said Amb. Hisham. He brought out the initiative’s database of projects, collaborating funding organizations, and knowledge partners. Its structure comprises an organizing committee, executive committees, and a judging committee, all geared towards achieving sustainable development goals.

On the other hand, Amb. Hisham stressed that the initiatives supported Egyptian local climatic solutions to extend to the international level. As for the NISGP’s media outreach, the initiative raised awareness among 18 million individuals in two years.  He also pointed up that the initiative is “using all the existing platforms in the Egyptian government with its heavy institutional structure to get people educated about a green and supportive shift to change the mindset, as green and smart is the true length of the future”, stated Hisham. Amb. Hisham also championed that a 5th-grade school student was teaching this initiative, which was “the result of this competition culture”. The ambassador also urged the investors to invest in projects relevant to their areas of interest, as “It is all about strategic partnership,” bringing everyone on board.

As for the criteria-setting process which was implemented in cooperation with Decarbon. initiative’s criteria, which include accepting pragmatic ideas, not theoretical ones, while ensuring fairness and transparency. Each year, the committees pick the top 3 projects of each category to receive financial rewards settled under EGP 50,000. The winning projects turned out to be with a global footprint, receiving international awards from the US, Singapore, Geneva, etc.

Additionally, 300 winners of past years were introduced to financers and financial institutions during the national conference organized within the framework of the initiative. Besides, two winners will be selected to attend the 2024 Baku Climate Change Conference, or COP 29, in Azerbaijan, allowing them the opportunity to showcase their projects.

The briefing concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Karim Refaat, Chairman of N Gage Group. Amb. Badr addressed concerns about navigating bureaucracy, the initiative’s potential challenge. “The heart of the initiative is to turn adversity into opportunity”, responded the ambassador. He also stated that the initiative was launched under the auspices of the Egyptian President and per a decree by the Prime Minister. Further, seven ministries are involved in the initiative. “Therefore, the initiative is using the leverage of bureaucracy to your favor for decisions to be made”, stated Amb. Hisham. Further, the success achieved during the first year made people reject the bureaucracy and were incentivized to participate.

NISGP offers valuation and training, either through seminars across the governorates or online sessions. Out of 12,000 submitted projects, NISGP received 3,817 eligible projects in two years across various sectors, including waste management, pollution, water, and green building.