Egypt has unveiled its first national Startup Charter, pledging $1 billion in funding alongside policy reforms aimed at boosting innovation, job creation, and economic growth.

The initiative follows more than a year of consultations involving 15 government entities and over 250 participants from the startup ecosystem, entrepreneurial community, and parliamentary bodies, according to a statement from the Egyptian Cabinet.

The charter aims to support up to 5,000 startups, create an estimated 500,000 direct and indirect jobs, and accelerate international expansion, as outlined by the Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship.

The charter was officially launched on Feb. 7 at the Grand Egyptian Museum, in an event attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Rania Al-Mashat, senior government officials, diplomats, and representatives from venture capital funds and the startup ecosystem.

The charter also introduces a unified financing initiative to coordinate funding from government entities. The mechanism aims to multiply the impact of available resources by up to four times, targeting the mobilization of $1 billion over the next five years through government-backed guarantees, co-investments with venture capital funds, and partnerships with private-sector investors.

Egypt’s startup ecosystem has gained momentum, with startups raising $228 million in venture capital and debt financing in the first five months of 2025. Official figures show total sector funding reached $614 million last year, underscoring rising investor confidence and a broader financing base.

The Cabinet described the Startup Charter as a strategic framework to strengthen startups and the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem, supporting innovation-led growth and job creation.

Over the next five years, the charter focuses on supporting startups’ global expansion, developing local talent, promoting venture capital, and attracting investment through a unified financing framework, while linking sector-specific challenges with technology-driven solutions.

At the launch, Al-Mashat said the charter is designed as a practical and adaptable framework that will evolve with technological and market changes, describing it as a first step toward updating policies and legislation to better support entrepreneurship. She added that its priorities were shaped through extensive stakeholder consultations to foster a sustainable, innovation-driven business environment.

A key element of the charter is a unified definition of startups as newly established, high-growth, and innovation-driven companies, aimed at simplifying access to incentives and official classification by small and medium enterprise authorities.