In a groundbreaking announcement, Yacine El-Mahdi Oualid, the Minister of Knowledge Economy, Start-ups, and Micro-enterprises, revealed that the National Agency for Entrepreneurship Support and Development (NESDA) financed nearly 9,900 projects in 2023. This move signifies a significant push towards fostering entrepreneurship and economic growth in Algeria.
The Minister highlighted the ministry’s decision to halt new applications through the agency in order to review pending applications and implement new mechanisms for project selection and financing. The focus will now be on adopting a “strictly economic” approach to evaluating applications, prioritizing quality over quantity and investing in real entrepreneurs. This shift will be facilitated by the introduction of a scoring grid for objective project financing.
Furthermore, the agency is set to undergo internal restructuring to align its operations with financial institutions and banks, transforming it into a structure responsible for market analysis, portfolio management, and project monitoring. This strategic realignment aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of entrepreneurship support in Algeria.
In a move to address non-performing loans granted under the previous ANSEJ program, the Minister announced that these loans would be rescheduled with the intervention of the General Directorate of the Treasury. This initiative offers a second chance to young beneficiaries and aims to alleviate the burden on the agency.
Overall, these initiatives underscore the government’s commitment to driving genuine economic development and providing opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs in Algeria. The focus on quality, efficiency, and strategic restructuring bodes well for the future of entrepreneurship in the country.