EGP4.7b collected in national fund-raising for economy

A fund opened by the Egyptian government to receive donations from businessmen in a bid to support the national economy has collected EGP4.7 billion in the past 18 months, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday.The amounts collected by the “Long Live Egypt” fund include EGP1 billion provided by the military, the president said in a lengthy speech at Cairo’s al-Galaa Theater, marking the launch of the Ministry of Planning’s long-term sustainable development strategy Egypt Vision 2030.

Egypt has relied heavily on financial contributions from Gulf and international institutions to support an economy battered by two popular uprisings since 2011, with a recent foreign currency crisis hitting harder, affecting imports of basic commodities.

Addressing the nation, Sisi said that the country could secure EGP300 million if every citizen were to spare just one pound from his cell phone credit.

"I am able to create 100 industrial zones and build EGP1 million condominiums per year" Sisi added addressing government officials attending the event.