South Korea is using its official development assistance program to export policy experience in women’s entrepreneurship to Egypt, as Cairo seeks to expand women’s participation in the labor market and small business sector.
The International Women and Family Foundation, in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency, is hosting a 14-day training program from Sunday to July 11 for 15 mid- to senior-level officials from Egypt’s National Council for Women, the foundation said.
The program, titled “Capacity Building on Gender/SME in Egypt,” is in its final year under a three-year KOICA Global Training initiative launched in 2024.
This year’s program is designed to help Egyptian officials develop policy models that can be adapted for use in Egypt, rather than focusing only on lectures or institutional visits.
Participants will study Korea’s policy experience in areas including gender mainstreaming, women’s employment, support for women-owned businesses, digital inclusion, and work-life balance policies.
The delegation will also visit public institutions and local initiatives, including women’s employment centers, business support organizations, and a women-led handicraft cooperative, to see how local programs are linked to jobs and entrepreneurship.
At the end of the program, participants are expected to present project concept papers outlining possible policy proposals for women’s entrepreneurship and small business support in Egypt.
“This program represents much more than a training course,” an IWFF representative said. “Over the past three years, Korea and Egypt have worked together to explore practical policy solutions for women’s economic empowerment.”
hnpark@heraldcorp.com
