Research Study on Streamlining the Egyptian Laws, Regulations and Procedures Governing SMEs Establishment, Growth, Export and Exit

In line with its policy objectives to reduce the cost of compliance with regulations covering enterprise establishment, operations, growth and exit, SMEPoL (Small and Medium Enterprises Policy Development Project) has appointed an Egyptian consultation consortium led by Megacom to undertake a research study on streamlining the Egyptian laws, regulations and procedures governing SMEs establishment, growth, export and exit.
The objective of this research study was to analyze the current laws and regulations, procedures and processes governing the establishment, operation, export and exit of SMEs in Egypt and make comprehensive explicit, specific actionable recommendations on how such laws and regulations could be streamlined to facilitate the different phases of the SME business cycle namely; establishment, operation, export and exit.
The scope of the research study could be summarized as follows:

Review and report on enacted laws, regulations and procedures that are governing the establishment, operation, export and exit of SMEs in Egypt.
Review and report on international experience regarding the successful strategies that have been implement by different jurisdictions to reduce the regulatory burden on the M/SMEs establishment and operations.
Provide specific recommendations on laws, regulations and procedures that can be eliminated, consolidated and/or streamlined.
Develop an Action Plan with roles assigned to all players.

To develop the International Comparative Study and tables, six countries were identified to be scanned. These countries were:

Canada (as one of the world leaders in simplifying the business environment)
Ireland (as an EU member country and a leader in simplifying the business environment)
Jordan (as a developing country sharing some economic characteristics and geographical region as Egypt)
India (as a leading developing country with some economic characteristics as Egypt)
China (as a social country with a high Foreign Direct Investment (FDI))
Latvia (as a country transforming from social oriented economy to the free market economy)

The research study covered the analysis of local status and international experience of the following areas:

Establishment Phase
Operation Phase
Export Phase
Exit Phase
Reforms Methodology
Regulatory Impact Assessment

Based on the analysis of local status and international experience, the experts have developed the recommendations listed in the following subsection. The recommendations are listed in hierarchal format based on the business phase and the category they address. The recommendations are listed here as a reference guide, while more elaboration is included within different chapters of the report.
A copy of the study could be obtained from the website of the “Small and Medium Enterprises Development Unit” under the URL http://www.sme.gov.eg/English_publications/Legal_En.zip