December 20th, 2017

10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Location: Conrad Cairo Hotel | Nile Ballroom | 1191 Nile Courniche

 

The IFPRI-Egypt Seminar Series is part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded project called “Evaluating Impact and Building Capacity” (EIBC) that is implemented by IFPRI. The seminar supports USAID’s Agribusiness for Rural Development and Increasing Incomes (ARDII) project’s objectives.

   In partnership with

"Unleashing Untapped Potential of Industrial Clusters in Egypt"

 

The conventional thinking is to provide developing countries with what they lack, such as financial resources and sound institutions. However, it can be a daunting task to establish well-functioning financial system and institutions. A more viable approach often is to enhance existing strengths. One noted approach is the cluster-based development model. Egypt has a large number of clusters, however, unlike in many Asian and Latin American countries where cluster-based development was a driver of agricultural and rural development, most of these clusters remain small.

Under the USAID funded project Evaluating Impact and Building Capacity (EIBC), IFPRI, in collaboration with the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES), is conducting a research project on cluster based development.  Xiaobo Zhang, Senior Research Fellow at IFPRI, will share his international experience and present different country experiences in the development of their furniture, handicrafts and agro-industrial based clusters, highlighting common barriers to their incubation and growth and the different government interventions. The Industrial Modernization Center (IMC) as well as the Social Fund for  Development (SFD) will share their up to date research and interventions in cluster-based development in Egypt. The World Bank will share the latest updates on the US 500 Million Dollar project for the Upper Egypt Local Development Program and UNIDO will be sharing their experience in promoting clusters and value chains in Egypt. The objective of the seminar is to inform policy making in Egypt and to refine the research agenda on cluster-based development.