50% of Loans to Be Waived For Women Graduating From Literacy Courses

In an attempt to increase Egypt’s literacy rate and encourage more women to pursue an education, the Ministry of Solidarity will waive 50% of small business loans taken out by women. All she has to do to qualify for this waiver is graduate from a literacy programme at a community school.

This is just part of a wider effort to integrate more marginalized communities into the formal labor market. Amongst them is the ‘Takaful’ programme, which offers financial support to families with children in early education or primary and secondary school. The programme also lends its support to students with disabilities and students in technical schools. 

In 2021, five million students were granted grants as part of the Takaful and Karama social safety net initiative. An additional 565,000 students were allocated grants as well through the Equal Educational Opportunities Program. Along with establishing solidarity units within public universities, the Ministry of Social Solidarity is looking beyond traditional education to civil society, helping NGOs develop more than 1000 community schools in 2021.