Sohag – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in cooperation with the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce and the Sohag Chamber of Commerce, inaugurated a new business services center in Sohag yesterday.  The Tamayouz Center, a one-stop shop for business registration and operation in Egypt, will improve the ease of doing business in Sohag.  

“The Sohag Tamayouz Center is a ‘one-stop shop’ that will reduce the business registration process from days to hours,” said Dr. Mary C. Ott, Mission Director at USAID in Egypt.  “This means more time for business owners to run their businesses, generate profits, create jobs, and contribute to the economy.”

The Sohag Tamayouz Center is the first one-stop business registration center in Upper Egypt. This center builds on the success of the Tamayouz Centers in Alexandria, Qaliyoubia, and Port Said that have registered nearly 28,000 new businesses since 2013.  The Tamayouz model makes it easier for Egyptians to start and operate businesses by bringing registration, licensing, and other required government processes together under one roof.  It allows business owners to obtain both the ministerial approvals for starting a business and the municipal approvals for operating a business. 

This initiative is one facet of a comprehensive package of technical assistance from the American people that promotes job creation, economic recovery and reform, private sector business growth, and a stronger trade and investment environment.  Over the past two years, USAID activities have led to new or better full-time employment for over 40,000 people and short-term jobs for another 20,000 laborers. These projects are part of the nearly $30 billion that the American people, through USAID, have invested in Egypt since 1975.  A diverse trade and investment relationship has made America Egypt’s largest bilateral trading partner and a significant investor in Egypt’s future, with total investments of almost $17 billion responsible for hundreds of thousands of Egyptian jobs.