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Egypt latest reality television show, urge contestants to sell fruit juice from push carts in Cairo’s busiest market and later organized a desert safari for tourists, while hustling to make sales in the capital’s crowded streets.
The program, called “The Project” in Arabic, features entrepreneurship and small business acumen. Expert believes that encouraging entrepreneurship is essential since Egypt’s economy is down.
Currently, youth unemployment are 30 percent and its economy only now back to levels seen before its 2011 uprising, Egypt’s hope may lie in small package – business.
Anna Elliot, executive producer of “The Project” and founder of Bamyan Media said that the word entrepreneurship is not known in her country, but she knows that her country needs it.
Egypt’s economic landscape is monopolized by its government. Now, the problem is that the government is suffering from economic downfall.
There are lots of small-scale businesses that can provide people with goods and services. These small-scale businesses don’t pay taxes, but the country is made out of this businesses.
Experts believe that these are the real building blocks of Egypt. Ghada Fathi Waly, managing director of Egypt’s Social Fund for Development, assessed there are two-thirds of the country’s economy rides belongs to these businesses. Waly, who is now the government minister, thinks that the solution to the county’s problem is to allow the business to run outside of government control so that they can grow. The government should not go after the small-scale business this early as there are potential exporters that are capable of paying large taxes.
One company that received aid from the social fund is Trustpack, a company responsible for making foil backing for sheets of pills. Owner Adel Abd ElSadk, says he has around employs 84 in his payroll.
The reality TV show “The Project” comes from the same government-run U.S. Agency for International Development that produces a similar show on entrepreneurship in Afghanistan.
Elliot said that the show will encourage people to get into businesses so that there will be more jobs in Egypt. Any contestant that didn’t make it to the last part of the show will be given with money so that they could start their own small business.
Contestant Thari el-Din, a Nubian from southern Egypt who plans to open a handicraft workshop for people with special needs, said that the show encourage him to pursue his dream.
Waly noted that they hope that people will know that Egypt is not just about demonstration and that the other part is also working.
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