His Excellency Eng. Tarek Kabil, Minister of Trade and Industry and His Excellency Dr.Mohamed Badr, Governor of Luxor are set to launch the ‘Invest In Luxor’ website which showcases 56 industrial investment opportunities in Luxor governorate, during the conference “Invest In Luxor – Unlocking Industrial Opportunities” which will be held on November 12th in Luxor.

“Invest In Luxor” is organized by IMKAN project for youth employability and entrepreneurship in Upper Egypt, a project implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) together with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Luxor Governorate, and with funding from the Government of Japan.

The IMKAN project aims at diversifying the local economy, developing the local private sector and enhancing youth employability in Luxor. Luxor enjoys a central geographical location amongst the governorates of Southern Upper Egypt and is considered Egypt’s southern portal to Africa as well as the commercial gateway between the Red Sea governorate and Upper Egypt. Luxor has an active agricultural sector due to its optimum climate in addition to being home to three industrial zones; Boghdadi (311 acres), New Tiba (382.71 acres) and Armant (1011.73 acres).

Luxor’s worldwide reputation as the tourism capital of Egypt has unparalleled brand value as it is known for being the ‘world’s largest open-air museum’. This has mobilized major capital into the creation of local services such as hospitality, conference centres etc. which can equally serve the business community as it does for tourism.

Luxor offers a wide range of competitive economic activities and over the past year a rigorous business opportunity mapping was conducted and concluded with the identification of 56 business opportunities which then led to the successful creation and growth of 22 startups and micro and small enterprises (with initial investment ranging from 30,000 to 1 million EGP) in 3 priority sectors: waste management, sustainable agriculture and food production, and sustainable energy. Those 22 startups, which are expected to create 146 direct local jobs within the next two years, will showcase their companies and products during “Invest In Luxor” to key market players such as suppliers, buyers, larger firms, NGOs and financiers. Furthermore, the project is focusing on supporting 6 larger investment opportunities (with investments ranging from 20 to 90 million EGP) that further develop the local economy and establishes linkages with the smaller enterprises.These 6 opportunities have both promising financial returns and high social and environmental impact, with the potential to create 157 direct local jobs, in addition to 124 seasonal jobs.

The ‘Invest In Luxor’ website will act as a knowledge sharing hub offering information on the investment opportunities, support services provided, operating startups and MSEs as well as showcase the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map which has acted as the model for the project and can be implemented in other governorates in Upper Egypt.

Luxor’s burgeoning and tight-knit innovation ecosystem is materializing as a community that fosters home-grown solutions and networks. Its connectivity, receptivity to international partnerships and availability of excellent hospitality services is setting up Luxor to deliver business success.