ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) November 2018 ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 1 Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 5 1.1 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT 5 1.2 PROJECT RATIONALE 8 1.3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 9 1.3.2 PARTICIPATING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (FPIS) 14 1.3.4 POTENTIAL SECTORS FOR SMES AND MSMES 15 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF ESMF 16 CHAPTER TWO: LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 17 2.1 WORLD BANK OPERATIONAL POLICIES 17 2.2 SCREENING CATEGORIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES 18 2.3 NATIONAL LEGISLATIONS AND REGULATIONS 19 2.3.1 ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS 19 2.3.2 EGYPTIAN LABOR LAW 24 2.3.3 LEGAL AND REGULATORY SYSTEM AFFECTING THE ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN 25 2.3.4 LEGAL AND REGULATORY SYSTEM AFFECTING THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES 28 CHAPTER THREE: BASELINE DESCRIPTION 30 3.1 BASELINE OVERVIEW 30 3.2 ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE 31 3.3 SOCIAL/SOCIO-ECONOMIC BASELINE 38 CHAPTER FOUR: ENVIRONEMNTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK 55 4.1 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESMENT 55 4.2 ESMP FRAMEWORK IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS 58 4.2.1 INTRODUCTION 58 4.2.2 OVERALL PROJECT INSTITUTIONAL AND IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS 58 4.2.3 RESULTS MONITORING AND EVALUATION ARRANGEMENTS 60 4.3 SUB-PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SCREENING AND APPROVAL FRAMEWORK 60 SCREENING FOR POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SAFEGUARD IMPACTS AND DETERMINATION OF SUITABLE SAFEGUARDS INSTRUMENTS FOR EACH SUB-PROJECT 64 4.4 FRAMEWORK ESMP 67 4.5 CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING NEEDS 79 4.6 ESMF COST ESTIMATE 79 ANNEX 1: CONSULTATION 82 APPENDIX 1: SAMPLE INVITATION FOR ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS 87 APPENDIX 2: LIST OF ATTENDEES AT THE MSMEDA MICRO-ENTERPRISE CLIENTS ROUNDTABLE 88 APPENDIX 3: LIST OF ATTENDEES TO PUBLIC CONSULTATION WORKSHOP 89 APPENDIX 4: PUBLIC CONSULTATION WORKSHOP PHOTOS 92 APPENDIX 5: KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE UK SPEIG TF BEHAVIORAL DIAGNOSTIC QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES 94 ANNEX 2. LIST OF EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES 98 ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 2 ANNEX 3: ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL SCREENING CRITERIA/CHECKLISTS 101 ANNEX 4: ENVIRONEMNTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY 105 ANNEX 5: ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN (ESMP) OUTLINE 107 I. Abbreviations and Acronyms BDS Business Development Services CBE Central Bank of Egypt CGC Credit Guarantee Company CPF Country Partnership Framework EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EEP Egypt Entrepreneurship Program ESG Environmental, Social and Governance ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework ESMP Environmental and Social Management Plan ESMS Environmental and Social Management System FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FAP Fintech Acceleration Program FI Financial Intermediaries FRA Financial Regulatory Authority GAFI General Authority for Investment and Free Zones GDP Gross Domestic Product GEM Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report GoE Government of Egypt GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development IC Investment Committees ICA Investment Climate Assessment IDD Integrity Due Diligence IFC International Finance Corporation IFR Interim Financial Report ILO International Labor Organization IMF International Monetary Fund IPF Investment Project Financing M&E Monitoring and evaluation ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 3 MENA Middle East and North Africa MIIC Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation MSME Micro Small and Medium Enterprises NBFIs Non-Bank Financial Institutions NCW National Council for Women PDO Project Development Objective PE Private Equity PFI Participating Financial Institution PIU Project Implementing Unit SMEs Small and Medium Enterprises VC Venture Capital II. List of Tables Table 2-1 Ambient air Quality Emission Limits (µg/m3) Table 2-2 Comparison of National and WBG Noise limits Table 3-1 Overview of Temperature and Precipitation in Egypt Table 3-2 Egypt’s 1000 Poorest Villages in Poverty within Governorates Table 3-3 Distribution of Unemployment according to Gender and Age Group Table 3-4 Literacy Rates in Egypt by age and gender Table 3-5 Gender differences in distribution of self-employment/employers between formal and informal sector Table 4-1 Potential Negative Impacts of the project’s financed activities Table 4-2 Common Environmental impacts associated with MSEs Table 4-3 Sub-project Safeguarding, Approval, and Disclosure Methodology Table 4-4 Framework ESMP during Operation Table 4-5 Framework ESMP during Construction III. List of Figures Figure 1-1 Flow of Funds Figure 3-1 National Poverty Line Figure 3-2 Pauperism – Geographical Regions Year 2013 Figure 3-3 Average Annual Household Expenditure in L.E Figure 3-4 Key Aspects of Multi-Dimensional Poverty, 2011 Figure 3-5 Average Annual Incomes for the family District Distribution Year 2013 Figure 3-6 Average Per Capita of the Family Annual Expenditure in L.E Figure 3-7 The Prevalence of poverty by Governorate, 2011 Figure 3-8 Unemployment in Egypt 2012-2016 Figure 3-9 Business Ownership by Gender, by Urban/Rural Areas Figure 3-10 Women Business Owners by Sector of Economic Activity Figure 3-11 Geographic Distribution of Women Business Owners by Governorate Figure 4-1 Outline of the ES Screening and Approval Methodology ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 4 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background and Context Egypt’s economic reform program is showing early signs of success, as economic growth rebounds, inflation falls, and fiscal consolidation efforts remain on track to bring public debt back to sustainable levels. The development of a private sector-led economy faces several constraints and requires further efforts to alleviate these key binding constraints. The Government of Egypt (GoE) has also implemented structural reforms that include a new industrial licensing law and an investment law, as well as updating the companies law and introducing legislation to cover bankruptcy all which have laid the ground work for a private sector response to the new macroeconomic conditions. Access to finance and land, as well as the lack of a level-playing field remain key impediments to private sector activity. Thus, the implementation and proper enforcement of the newly adopted legislative reforms are imperative to enhance the business environment and ensure fair competition and equal-opportunity for all market players. Due to the high inflation over the course of FY17 and FY18, social conditions have remained difficult. The government’s efforts to scale up social protection measures including through higher allocations on food smart cards and targeted cash transfer programs have been key in partly mitigating the short-term negative effects. Yet, these need to be complemented with efforts to improve targeting and widen coverage, also in addition to enhancing public service delivery. To ensure that the economic reforms have a positive impact on citizens, Egypt needs the private sector-to create new jobs, particularly in the formal labor market, as well as jobs for women and youth. There are several constraints to private sector growth: finance and land access, competitiveness and an equal playing field. Access to finance was cited as a top business constraint by 13 percent of firms in 2016, up from 10 percent of firms in 2013. Finance, particularly for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups, is predominantly debt financing with channels through the banking and non-banking sectors; but financing for entrepreneurs requires various mechanisms to open up such as capital markets, venture capital, and private equity. More than 90 percent of land is owned by the government, and land registration processes have not been modernized. The GoE has launched a set of legislative and institutional reforms that foster an improved environment for the business sector, especially for smaller enterprises, focusing on the demand-side constraints. 1 1 World Bank. 2017. “Women Entrepreneurship in Egypt: High growth potential start -up report�. ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 5 Recognizing that new job creation is likely to come from new firms and the growth of smaller enterprises, the government has taken measures such as: i) creating a formal registry for movable assets to be used as collateral, to overcome constraints especially for smaller enterprises, and women and youth entrepreneurs who do not own/cannot own land or have access to traditional collateral; ii) amending the companies’ law to allow single person companies to be formally incorporated and to strengthen protection for minority shareholders, iii) issuing a new Investment Law to encourage new inward investments; iv) introducing a new Bankruptcy Law which de-criminalizes bankruptcy, simplifies the procedures and minimizes the need for companies or individuals to resort to the courts; and (iv) the establishment of a one-stop shop and on-line services to start a business; and offering dedicated services for women entrepreneurs. At the same time, there is a renewed impetus behind the reform of the education sector with a focus on acquiring skills for the jobs of the future. Yet even with reforms in both the demand- and the supply-side of the labor market, informality is widespread across income groups. Even fifty percent of the middle class are employed in the informal sector. To foster a stronger private sector response to the improved business environment the government has established its own venture capital fund to support entrepreneurs, as well as launched various initiatives to build entrepreneurial skills – particularly given the needs for women and youth. The government established Egypt Ventures2 to develop the Egyptian entrepreneurial ecosystem, increase deal-flow from startups to scaleups, as well as support the development of new and existing accelerators and venture capital firms. The government also launched the Fekretak Sherketak (your idea, your company) initiative which provides financial and technical support to entrepreneurs all over Egypt.3 In Egypt, over a third of entrepreneurs remain driven by opportunity, which means that they have started a business due to the absence of other work alternatives; higher than the global average of 23.2 percent.4 In terms of age distribution, there is a noticeable increase in the percentage of youth that decide to open their own business, especially those in the age range 18-24 years. This growth in youth entrepreneurship could be attributed to the higher rate of necessity entrepreneurs driven by the unemployment rate. 56 In terms of gender one in four entrepreneurs is a woman, and one in six established business owners is a woman. The trend has been a decline, 25 percent of early stage entrepreneurs were women in 2015 compared to 32 percent 2 Egypt Ventures is an investment firm seeded by the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation with a mandate of supporting and investing in startups from a diverse range of sectors across Egypt. 3 “Fekretak Sherketak� Initiative is an innovative initiative to encourage startups and promote the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Egypt; it promotes the launch of the Egypt Entrepreneurship Program (EEP) in partnership with Hermes Financial Group and the United Nations Development Program. EEP is a comprehensive platform designed to catalyze the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem in Egypt. 4 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report 2016-2017 5 Ibid 6 Ibid ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 6 in 2010.7 Furthermore, women-led businesses have a lower probability of continuation compared to men- led businesses, although women entrepreneurs tend to make higher returns than their male counterparts.8 While the problem of limited access to finance for entrepreneurs is widespread, it is more acute for female and youth-led enterprises, who also face more challenges in accessing business development services. The World Bank FINDEX 2017 survey finds that only 27 percent of females aged 15 years and above had an account at a financial institution, compared to 57 percent of males. In addition, only 14 percent of Egyptians aged 15 to 24 years had an account at a financial institution in 2017, compared to 23 percent in Tunisia, 25 percent in Jordan, and an average of 34 percent in the MENA region. The main constraints women and youth face are: restrictive collateral requirements and inadequate loan sizes and terms.9 In addition, women and youth tend to lack awareness and understanding of available financing mechanisms. In the case of start- ups, entrepreneurs identify lack of investors and shortage of funding at all the stages of the start-up financing lifecycle as one of the main constraints.10 In the case of women and youth entrepreneurs, this is aggravated by two factors: i) women and youth have lower access to networks of investors compared to men; and ii) investors perceive women and youth led enterprises as riskier than other investments. Investors have expressed a preference to work with men rather than women,11 and young entrepreneurs are perceived as high risk due to lack of business experience. According to the Women Entrepreneurship Development Assessment, although there are various NGOs providing mainstream business development services, the geographical reach, depth of services and quality of interventions are reported to be low. These factors, together with lack of convenient scheduling options and affordability of services cause women’s take-up of mainstream business development programs to be very low in Egypt. Women entrepreneurs in ILO focus groups confirm that they are not aware of such services and only 8.5 percent have ever attended a training program for women, and only 5 percent have received business counselling or mentoring targeting women entrepreneurs. According to the ILO’s Women Entrepreneurs Survey results, 56 per cent of respondents obtain most of their information on business related matters from family, friends and neighbors. Similarly, young entrepreneurs also have difficulty getting 7 GEM Egypt National Report 2015/16 8 WOMENA founder Elissa Freiha interview, 2016. 9 Based on a survey conducted by the Middle East and North Africa Business Women Network (MENA BWN), approximately 60 per cent of Egyptian women business owners rated high interest rates as the major constraint in obtaining a loan; 40 per cent identified collateral requirements as an issue; 42 per cent reported that approved loan amounts were not adequate; and 38 per cent reported that repayment terms were too short. 10 World Bank. 2017. “Women Entrepreneurship in Egypt: High growth potential start -up report�. 11 As suggested by interviews conducted to angel investors in Cairo as part of the Women Entrepreneurship in Egypt: High growth potential start-up report�. ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 7 information on business development, marketing, sales, management and operations, all vital for their businesses to survive and grow.12 1.2 Project Rationale The project is part of a broader comprehensive program of support to Egypt to foster inclusive growth led by the private sector to create jobs, given the context of a relatively high population growth rate and a persistent problem of unemployment. IBRD-led activities include the US$1billion Development Policy Financing (DPF)for Enabling Private Sector and Territorial Development project which continues to support the policy and institutional reforms for the private sector to develop. The DPF financing is complemented by technical assistance to the General Authority for Free Zones and Investment and the Industrial Development Authority to help them to implement the reforms to reduce the time and costs of starting a business and getting an industrial license (through the Equal Access and Simplified Environment for Investment Project). The project benefits from the technical support already provided to the Financial Regulation Authority (FRA) to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework for microfinance. Also, this project builds upon the Promoting Innovation for Inclusive Financial Access which was implemented by MSMEDA (and formerly the Social Fund for Development) and supported the creation of a line of to finance MSEs through eligible financial institutions and the promotion of innovative financing mechanisms through Venture Capital support. The project contributes to an inclusive growth strategy, by unlocking finance and business development constraints to entrepreneurs enabling them to start-up, grow and go on to create new economic opportunities and jobs. With specific targets for those typically excluded, the project will also focus on inclusion of women and youth. The proposed operation is fully aligned with the IFC regional priorities, which include small and medium-sized enterprises, gender and youth employability, with the objective of supporting the region’s private sector, helping to create jobs and drive sustainable growth. Through improving financial inclusion of women in Egypt, the proposed project intervention is fully aligned with the WB Gender Strategy especially with respect to pillar 2: “removing barriers for more and better jobs� and pillar 3: “removing barriers for women’s ownership and control over assets�. The proposed project is supplemented with technical assistance to a range of stakeholders in the financial sector. 12 Brookings 2016. “Educated but unemployed. The challenge faced Egypt’s youth� ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 8 1.3 Project Description 1.3.1 Project Objective and Components The project development objective is catalyzing entrepreneurship for enhancing economic opportunities and job creation. The project is composed of the following components: Component 1: Financial Support to Income Generating MSMEs ($146 million) This component will provide debt financing for entrepreneurs through financial intermediaries, with a focus on end-beneficiaries that can generate jobs; and specific targets for the share of financing for women- and youth-led MSMEs and first-time borrowers. Financial intermediaries will include micro-finance institutions, factoring and leasing companies, and banks. However, with a focus on the non-banking financial intermediaries (NBFIs), the project seeks to complement existing banking sector initiatives and maximize the additionality of the resources. Microfinance institutions, factoring and leasing companies are important sources of funding for MSMEs. In the same way, factoring and leasing serve as an alternative to bank loan financing for acquisition of productive assets, providing medium and long-term financing for segments which typically are under-served by the banking sector or may not qualify for bank financing due to excessive collateral requirements. Once financial intermediaries receive the project funds, they will channel the funds to entrepreneurs through commercial lines. This will be done putting in place specific eligibility criteria to ensure that the desired beneficiaries are reached. 13 By using a range of intermediaries to channel the project funds, the operation expects to maximize the impact and outreach to high growth, job-creating firms and the target population. The project complements existing Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) initiatives that aim to provide MSME financing through the banking sector; with a special focus on the non-banking financial sector to create a critical mass of successful lending transactions, to make a demonstration effect. When a demonstration effect is achieved more private investors will be interested in participating in this space. Microfinance institutions, factoring, and leasing companies require dedicated financing to incentivize greater participation in the MSME market, especially if it comes accompanied by targeted financial and non-financial support to serve specific segments of the population, such as women and youth. Financing will be in the form of a line of credit, through NBFI intermediaries, in 13 The eligibility criteria will be outlined in detailed in the Operations manual of the project. ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 9 particular microfinance institutions (MFIs), microfinance companies (MFCs), Factoring Companies (FC) and leasing companies (LCs) to support access to entrepreneurs. This component will place special emphasis on elements of additionality through a strategy focused on providing financing to enterprises with job creating potential but will not target specific sectors. Since globally high growth potential firms can arise in any sector the component will not target specific sectors. However, capacity for identifying firms with job-creating potential will be developed and the strategy may be refined going forward. The strategy includes financing for: a) financial institutions: a) financial intermediaries that have not previously accessed commercial funding; b) institutions such as Tier C NGO MFIs that have a higher operational risk profile than the median market average and tend to be closer to female and youth beneficiaries; and c) first time borrowers such as microfinance, factoring and leasing companies. Progress made on these elements by the project will be monitored through the results framework. Participating financial institutions (PFIs) will be selected based on their ability to finance targeted entrepreneurs with job creating potential. Funding will be provided at commercial rates and in accordance with World Bank Operational Procedure 10, to ensure there are no market distortions and that investment decisions are made according to financial sustainability. In accordance with World Bank Operational Procedure 10, the cost of financing to participating financial institutions (PFIs) and final borrowers will be one hundred percent commercial. An interest rate will be constructed and outlined in the operations manual that incorporates exchange rate risk, the cost of mobilizing resources, administrative costs, and financial/credit risk. Costs to the final borrowers will incorporate macro financial sector-related and liquidity mismatch risks, in line with credit policies of PFIs. Each PFI will follow its own applicable credit risk appraisal and approval management procedures. Component 2: Risk capital for innovative Startups and high growth SMEs ($50 million) The entrepreneurship and early stage investment ecosystem in Egypt is nascent; and as such, it faces a significant gap in startup financing, as well as, weaknesses in its ability to support entrepreneurs to create and develop viable high-growth potential businesses. There are only a handful of commercially sustainable entrepreneurship support entities, such as incubators, accelerators, equity funds, etc. In this context, this component provides equity financing for investments both in early stage equity funds and directly in innovative start-ups and SMEs; as well as resources to support entrepreneurship support entities, both existing and new ones. The objective of this activity is to catalyze the creation and growth of new or existing private risk capital intermediaries (RCIs) such as incubators, angel funds, accelerators, Venture Capital and SME investment ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 10 funds to support innovative startups and enterprises capable of high growth and job creation. Resources under this sub-component will support equity and quasi equity investments (mezzanine, debt and convertible notes) in RCIs. 14 Subject to market demand, the component will include the option for equity investments in financial intermediaries. This would help microfinance companies with long-term funding needs and thus support professionalization of the sector. Once NBFIs receive the project funds, they will channel the funds to entrepreneurs through commercial lines. This will be done putting in place specific eligibility criteria15 to ensure that the desired beneficiaries are reached. Component 3: Business and Capacity Development ($4.0 million) This component will cover non-financial support to ensure that there is (a) capacity built within the implementing agency, particularly to manage component 2 as well as to undertake rigorous monitoring and management for results; and (b) working with others to ensure adequate business development services, mentoring and coaching are accessed by program beneficiaries; (c) provide specific support to generate deal flow for the second component and (d) to provide a digital matching platform that would connect entrepreneurs with potential investors. In addition to lack of finance, entrepreneurs in general, and more specifically women- and youth-led MSMEs face several non-financial challenges, including a lack of skills, limited access to markets, and limited access to tailored business development support such as information services, training, networking, and mentorship. The design of these activities is based on two assessments, currently ongoing that seek to identify gaps in hard and soft skills of entrepreneurs. The assessments put emphasis on identifying common constraints as well as identifying specific needs of women and youth entrepreneurs to ensure tailored solutions 16 . Feedback on the business development activities will be obtained from beneficiaries on a regular basis and will be used to iteratively improve the activities over the project period. This component will be used to develop a robust monitoring framework, including to monitor risks and constraints to achieving the PDO-level indicators, particularly, on job creation and support the implementing 16 Most of the Angel, Accelerator, VC and SME fund management teams applying will be considered as SMEs, accordingly; technical assistance to the teams will be complementing the supply of risk capital and early stage financing to ensure that these fund managers have the adequate competencies and skill-set to operate investment vehicles and support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. 16 The eligibility criteria will be outlined in detailed in the Operations manual of the project. 16 Two assessments are currently ongoing: one is a hard skills gap assessment and the second one a behavioral gap assessment. Both studies separate women and youth through analysis of specific secondary data, interviews and focus groups. ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 11 agency to also work with other partners to build a strong pipeline of MSMEs that can access financing under the project. The component will build awareness of the program among start-ups, and stimulate business development services in partnership with other development partners. This activity will bring out good business ideas through competitions and rigorous acceleration programs and help mitigate the elevated risk of failure, typically experienced by startups due to lack of experience in management, marketing and navigating through legal requirements. To this end, the component will also work on improving the quality of mentors and mentorship services in general. This component will include activities to attract potential entrepreneurs, such as training, business plan competitions. Funds under this activity will also cover any additional project-related management costs over the project life, especially as it relates to developing a monitoring and evaluation framework, but also to ensure that the project remains in compliance with all Bank requirements. These costs include management and consultancy fees and operations and administrative costs for the management and monitoring of the project activities, to ensure smooth quality implementation. This can include: training and capacity building activities for staff; marketing; conducting ecosystem assessments and analysis; monitoring and evaluation (M&E); safeguards monitoring and review; legal; accounting, auditing, and financial management. In addition, an impact evaluation will be undertaken to assess the impact of financing under component 1 and 2 on outcomes, especially job creation. This impact evaluation will be funded outside of the project through complementary trust funded activity. ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 12 Figure 1-1: Flow of Funds The World Bank’s financial management rules apply on the flow of funds. Throughout the preparation and implementation of previous WBG operations with the implementing entity, the Bank worked closely with the MSMEDA team to improve the MSMEDA’s internal control procedures including updating the FM Manual and the Internal Audit risk-based approach. ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 13 1.3.2 Participating Financial Institutions (FPIs) Component 1 will provide debt financing for entrepreneurs through financial intermediaries, with a focus on firms as end-beneficiaries that can generate jobs; and specific targets for the share of financing for women- and youth-led MSMEs and first-time borrowers. This component aims to address access to debt and equity financing gaps amongst MSMEs in Egypt, noting that a majority of MSMEs feel more financially constrained since the revolution (the share of MSME loans to total loans decreased from 5% to 3% between 2010 and 2013) and only 5% of small firms have access to formal financial credit. The microfinance market is currently reaching only 25% of its potential market. Debt Financing will flow from the project implementing agency to participating financial institutions (PFIs) who will on-lend the money on commercial terms to end borrowers, MSMEs. Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) will include microfinance institutions (MFIs), factoring and leasing companies, and banks. Factoring and leasing companies serve as an alternative to bank loan financing for the acquisition of productive assets. They provide medium and long-term financing for businesses which are typically under-served by the banking sector or may not even qualify for bank financing due to the bank’s collateral requirements. Microfinance, both in Egypt and in markets globally, is an important driver of female economic empowerment. Access to financial services improves a woman’s ability to climb out of poverty, reduces her dependence on the informal sector, and improves their ability to engage in measurable and productive economic activities. Component 2. The objective of this activity is to increase the supply of seed, early stage and venture capital going to innovative startups and young SMEs with high potential for growth and job creation. Funding under this component will be provided as equity, and quasi equity (Venture debt, mezzanine) to startups and SMEs through capital made in risk capital intermediaries (RCI) such as Angel funds, Accelerators, VC funds and investment companies that meet the criteria (this includes capacity, track record, and investment strategy). 1.3.3 Project Beneficiaries of Financing Activities The list below includes the project beneficiaries of financing activities: � Firms: income generating MSMEs (component 1) and innovative startups and SMEs (component 2) � Individuals: Entrepreneurs (sole proprietors or sole proprietors; Home Based Businesses) � Economic opportunities: Improved economic opportunities include opportunities to expand a business, to develop new product lines, upgrade business processes, and enter new markets. The theory ESMF - CATALYZING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR JOB CREATION PROJECT 14 of change is that these economic opportunities arise to firms when bottlenecks to accessing technical or managerial skills; finance; and soft skills are removed. � Youth: male or female individuals between 18 and 35 years old. � MSME: The project will use the definition provided by the Central Bank of Egypt for micro small and medium-sized enterprises which is based on the volume of revenues or turnover: micro enterprises less than EGP 1 million, small is between EGP10 million and EGP20 million; and medium between EGP20 million and EGP100 million. Number of employees: Micro<10; Small<200; Med<200; Paid Capital: Micro<50 000 LE; 50 000< Small<5M LE; 5