A group of Egyptian companies from a range of industries is funding an awareness campaign launching a “proudly made in Egypt” quality seal issued by the Trade and Industry Ministry. The long-term campaign encourages Egyptian consumers to “buy Egyptian” by poking fun at our national love-hate relationship with all things foreign. The campaign, created by TNA, debuted during Ramadan and actively encourages consumers to play a role in Egypt’s economic recovery with the choices they make in stores every day.

Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Kabil inaugurated the ‘Proudly made in Egypt’ campaign, which focuses on manufacturers of high quality Egyptian products.

The minister stated that the campaign aims to introduce consumers to locally manufactured, high quality products, and highlight companies that apply quality standards accredited by Egyptian or international bodies. It also protects the consumer from products manufactured in the informal sector that do not adhere to local and international quality standards.

During a conference held on Tuesday, Kabil said that the initiative is part of the Sustainable Development Strategy: Egypt Vision 2030, aiming to reach an annual industrial growth rate of 10% by 2020.

He added that the initiative is an important mechanism that contributes to doubling the rate of industrial growth, expanding industrial investment, and deepening the domestic industry, as it also activates the reliance on domestic products.

Kabil noted that the initiative is a tool to support industrial plants in applying the highest quality standards and management systems, which will in turn increase corporate sales.

The ministry will later use the ‘Proudly made in Egypt’ trademark to globally promote Egyptian products, in order to increase exports to foreign markets.

Recently, the country has been importing a lot of products it doesn’t need to import, according to Kabil, as imports reached $65bn, and exports amounted to $18.5bn in 2015.

Kabil added that the initiative aims to encourage citizens to buy Egyptian products, not only in support of national industry, but also to take advantage of high quality Egyptian products that exceed the quality of imported products.

“The initiative has been supported by a large number of Egyptian companies in order to enhance the competitiveness of the national industry. The turnout of the initiative reflects their commitment to implement the highest quality standards,” Kabil said.

Chairperson of the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC) Ahmed Taha said that the IMC is the body in charge of granting the trademark, after evaluating and aligning a company’s products with the required specifications.

Taha added that the trademark license is valid for two years, and that companies can obtain it in one to four weeks.

He explained that in order to obtain the trademark, a company must submit an application, its industrial record, the factory or company’s license, and a certificate stating that the product is locally manufactured.