Al-Mashat: "Takaful & Karama" Is National Model to Be Emulated Globally in Social Protection with Support of WB

Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, participated in the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the "Takaful and Karama" cash transfer program.

The event was held under the patronage and in the presence of H.E. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister; and attended by H.E. Eng. Ibrahim Mahlab, former Prime Minister; H.E. Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development and Minister of Health and Population; H.E. Dr. Maya Morsy, Minister of Social Solidarity; H.E. Mr. Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Finance; H.E. Dr. Sherif Farouk, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade; H.E. Dr. Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and General/Executive Director of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV); H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Advisor to the President for Economic Affairs; H.E. Mr. Stephane Gimbert, Regional Director For Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti at the World Bank; H.E. Ms. Elena Panova, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt; H.E. Mr. Gareth Bayley, British Ambassador to Egypt; as well as other officials from the government, civil society, and international organizations.

At the beginning of her speech, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat emphasized that the "Takaful and Karama" program is a model for innovative programs and fruitful and constructive international partnerships that have supported the state in enhancing social protection efforts for the most vulnerable groups, which reflects positively on economic development efforts.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat pointed out the state's keenness, in parallel with economic reform programs, to adopt a set of social programs and initiatives to mitigate the impact of these measures and programs on lower-income groups in society.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat affirmed that over 10 years, the "Takaful and Karama" cash transfer program has reflected the state's firm commitment to achieving social justice and increasing investment in human capital.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat noted that the government's program until 2027 includes clear provisions and targets related to expanding the umbrella of social protection to achieve social justice. This includes the implementation of many programs that ensure the provision of support to various neediest groups, with a focus on female heads of households, improving the standard of living of citizens in rural areas, supporting the sustainability of social protection programs and conditional cash transfer programs, and working to maximize the benefit from concessional development financing and technical support from multilateral and bilateral development partners in the field of social protection.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat reiterated that the program goes beyond the idea of providing financial support to achieve social protection, to become an integrated model that links social protection with education and health, and establishes the concepts of sustainability and human dignity. It reflects the state's orientation towards building flexible and fair social safety nets.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat underscored that "Takaful and Karama" was launched as a national initiative based on the state's belief in the importance of supporting Egyptian citizens in facing challenges and enhancing human development efforts, with support from the World Bank through concessional development financing and technical assistance. The program has become a leading model in the field of social protection, not only at the level of the social protection system in Egypt but also internationally. She pointed out the World Bank's tendency to invest in this success and benefit from the experiences gained in Egypt through this program to apply it in other countries.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat indicated that since the program's implementation began in 2015, Egypt, through its economic diplomacy efforts, has been able to mobilize development financing from the World Bank amounting to approximately $1.4 billion, equivalent to EGP 70 billion, to achieve sustainability in social protection efforts.

This is in addition to the technical support provided by the Bank's experts, who contributed to building the capacities of government employees involved in implementing the program and digitizing cash disbursement processes through the provision of "Meeza" cards, as well as developing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

The United Kingdom also provided a grant for a project to enhance the institutional and human capacities of the Ministry of Social Solidarity, which enhances the effectiveness of social protection programs, in addition to launching the "Waai" (Awareness) program in partnership with the International Labour Organization to combat child labor.

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat highlighted that these joint national efforts have contributed to reaching more than 4.6 million beneficiary families nationwide and about 17 million direct and indirect beneficiaries. Additionally, 51% of families benefited from the Takaful program comply with the health conditions of conducting three visits to the health unit annually, and 63% of families covered by the program adhere to the education conditions of maintaining an 80% attendance rate. Furthermore, 100% of beneficiaries receive cash amounts through electronic means.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat emphasized that these indicators reflect the broad societal impact of the "Takaful and Karama" program and its role in improving the standard of living of beneficiary citizens and encouraging them to continue their education and access healthcare services. Moreover, the "Takaful and Karama" program has served as a model for integration with other initiatives and programs, represented by the presidential initiative "Hayah Karima", where the program contributes to supporting the most vulnerable families within the initiative. She pointed out that women's empowerment occupies a prominent and central position in this program, as women constitute the vast majority of "Takaful and Karama" cardholders at a rate of 75%.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat confirmed that Egypt's relations with development partners and various international financing institutions are characterized by flexibility in formulating agreements according to national priorities, foremost of which is empowering the private sector and providing various financing products for micro-enterprises. Therefore, $25 million, equivalent to EGP 1.2 billion, from the World Bank's funding is being allocated to enable beneficiary families of the Takaful and Karama program to obtain financing for micro-enterprises, enabling them to improve their standard of living and transition from families eligible for support to families with a sustainable source of income.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat added that within the framework of achieving economic empowerment, the "Foras" (Opportunities) program, as one of the important inputs for Takaful and Karama, contributes to qualifying beneficiaries by training them and developing their skills to join the labor market and empower them economically. This is in addition to establishing new projects and providing more job opportunities within Egyptian society, which particularly targets women as the main beneficiaries of Takaful and Karama, which will contribute in the future to enhancing women's participation in the labor market as entrepreneurs.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat also outlined that the 2025/2026 fiscal year budget pays great attention to various aspects of social spending and supporting low-income segments through effective programs, initiatives, and contributions. She noted that the allocations for social protection in the new budget amount to about EGP 732.6 billion. She also affirmed that human development enjoys priority within the economic and social development plan for the upcoming fiscal year, with its investments from total public investments amounting to about EGP 327 billion, compared to EGP 268 billion in the current fiscal year, a growth of 22%. Human development accounts for 45.3% of government investments, compared to 42% in the current fiscal year.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat mentioned that during the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank, Egypt presented its experience in the actual implementation of the Takaful and Karama program, which the World Bank praised as a leading and distinguished model for social protection programs, worthy of emulation by other countries.

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat extended appreciation to the early contributors to the "Takaful and Karama" program, Dr. Ghada Waly and Dr. Nevine El-Kabbaj, and congratulated Dr. Maya Morsy and the team at the Ministry of Social Solidarity. She also thanked the team at the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation for their efforts in coordinating agreements with international partners, as well as the World Bank, the development partner that supports the state's efforts in various fields.

At the conclusion of the event, H.E. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, honored H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, among a group of current and former ministers who contributed to supporting and implementing the program since its launch in 2015.