"Ministers’ information": Great economic importance for the heritage and handicrafts sector in Egypt
The Information and Decision Support Center of the Council of Ministers showed that the heritage and handicrafts sector in Egypt employed more than two million people as of January 2024; This made the sector of great economic importance, in light of its absorption of a large number of workers. Which contributes to reducing the unemployment rate.
A report issued by the Information Center from a series of "Information Reports" – Titled “Handicrafts…a heritage identity that supports sustainable development.” – The traditional and handicrafts in Egypt and their types, which include 11 types, namely (Khayamiya, ceramic and pottery making, tally, Sinai embroidery, copperworks, tanning and leather goods, hand-weaving, hand-made carpets, wicker and leaf, Badri paper, glass making).
He pointed out that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority prepared during 2017 the first inventory of production clusters and monitoring of data. Demographics: The results showed that there are about 145 natural production clusters in various governorates that include about 77.7 thousand establishments, and 79% of those establishments belong to the informal sector and employ more than 580 thousand workers, at least about 30% of whom are women, and 63% of those clusters focus on Handicraft and handicraft activities, which depend mainly on raw materials to complete production processes, and 24% of the craft industry clusters were concentrated in the governorates of Cairo and Giza. And Alexandria in 2023, and about 21% of these industries are concentrated in the governorates of Upper Egypt, and about 15% in Sinai and the border governorates.
He pointed out that the volume of funding directed to handicrafts and heritage activities in Egypt amounted to 40 million pounds in 2023, according to the Development Authority. Medium, small and micro enterprises compared to 73.4 million pounds in 2022, a decrease of 45.5%, and the number of craft exhibitions reached There were about 8 internal handicrafts and heritage exhibitions with total sales amounting to 126.6 million pounds in 2023. The total sales of internal handicrafts and heritage exhibitions, which numbered about 37 exhibitions, amounted to 360.8 million pounds during the period (2019-2023), while the number of external exhibitions reached about 22 exhibitions during the period (2019-2023). The period (2019-2023) and the total sales of these exhibitions amounted to about 19.3 million pounds during the same period, and during the year In 2023, the number of foreign exhibitions reached about 6, and their sales recorded about 8.2 million pounds. As for the value of Egyptian exports of craft products, it reached 250 million dollars during the year 2022, according to data from the Chamber of Handicrafts Industry, compared to about 254 million dollars in 2021, a decrease of 1.6%.
The report reviewed the state’s initiatives to promote traditional and handicrafts, which were represented by the “Hafari” program. To support small makers of handmade and heritage products, the Ayad Masr platform, the Enterprise Development Authority initiative to revive traditional crafts in Egypt, the presidential initiative “Turning in Silk”, in addition to the Egyptian Initiative for Integrated Development “Al Nidaa” To revive traditional and handicrafts, the Creativity Min Misr Initiative, the Misr Industrialists Initiative, and the Creative Egypt Programme.
The report also addressed the challenges facing the craft and handicraft industries in Egypt, most notably the weak volume of funding provided to the sector and the rapid exit of skilled workers. Among them, the dominance of the informal sector over craft industries, the suffering of craftsmen from the social perception of them, the weakness of infrastructure and technological structure, the absence of coordination between production and market requirements, the absence of an institutional framework for education and training in crafts, An incomplete local supply chain.
The report also addressed the opportunities and strengths that the Egyptian market possesses to support and develop the handicrafts sector and to support the growth of the local market for handicrafts, the most important of which are the following: the presence of a large number of skilled craftsmen in various crafts. The diversity of handicraft products, the presence of a large local market, the entry of young designers to work in the sector, the low investment cost required to start a craft activity, the availability of raw materials needed for most handicraft products locally.
The handicraft sector also has in Egypt offers real opportunities that support its growth and development. These opportunities are represented by the Egyptian government’s establishment of regulatory and legislative policies to develop the sector, the presence of a large percentage of young people in Egyptian society, and the possibility of benefiting from the global trend towards creative and sustainable products.
The report reviewed – In conclusion – the experiences of the countries “India, Vietnam and China” And the initiatives it has taken to advance its handicraft sector. It also addressed proposals to advance the handicraft sector in Egypt, which represented the establishment of an institutional body to be responsible for managing and developing the handicraft cluster sector in Egypt, and the establishment of a system for managing sectoral data and statistics to overcome the main challenge represented by the lack of Clear and documented sectoral statistics, and the establishment of local design centers to support innovation and development of handmade product design, in addition to establishing a system for managing raw materials, provided that this system is supported by a clear database that includes identifying all required raw materials and local and exported raw materials. And sources of local raw materials, and providing the needs of handicraft groups for modern tools and equipment used in production, such as modern looms, sewing and cutting tools and equipment, dyeing tools and washing machines, and enhancing the conditions of craftsmen through establishing an effective official trade union or union for craftsmen, and paying attention to marketing activities that support Promoting Egyptian handicrafts locally and internationally).
