Interviews / 12/11/2025

GAFI and Egypt’s growth

President Hossam Heiba discusses the Mapei plant as an international model for industrial investment

Interviewee

Hossam Heiba

President of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones

GAFI, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, is shaping a competitive, business-friendly environment that attracts global industrial players through streamlined procedures, tailored incentives, and strategic infrastructure. Its support for Mapei’s new plant exemplifies how Egypt facilitates high-value foreign investment and regional expansion. GAFI aims to drive national growth in manufacturing, renewables, logistics, and digital sectors, positioning Egypt as a long-term hub for regional development.

What is GAFI and how does it contribute to creating a favorable environment for global companies to invest and expand in Egypt’s industrial sector?

The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) is Egypt’s gateway for investors and the driving force behind the country’s ambition to become a leading global industrial hub. As Egypt’s investment promotion agency, GAFI is dedicated to empowering international companies with the right environment, tools, and incentives to establish, operate, and expand successfully.

GAFI plays a pivotal role in shaping a favorable investment climate by streamlining the investor journey through its one-stop-shop services, offering fast-track company establishment, licensing, and regulatory approvals. This eliminates bureaucracy and allows global firms to focus on their core business.

We also design attractive incentive schemes in free zones and investment zones, tailored to meet the needs of industrial investors. These zones provide world-class infrastructure, competitive tax advantages, and seamless access to regional and global markets.

We champion investor interests by working hand-in-hand with policymakers to continuously improve Egypt’s investment framework, ensuring transparency, predictability, and alignment with international best practices.

GAFI promotes opportunities across sectors, with a strong focus on Egypt’s rapidly expanding industrial base. We actively showcase the country’s strategic advantages: its geographic position at the crossroads of Africa, Europe, and Asia; its large domestic market; and its growing network of international trade agreements.

Finally, GAFI supports long-term growth through aftercare programs, facilitating expansions, partnerships, and reinvestments that allow companies not only to enter Egypt but to grow regionally from it.

With GAFI as a trusted partner, global companies find in Egypt not just an entry point to a dynamic local market, but a launchpad for regional and international expansion. By combining investor-focused services with a bold reform agenda, GAFI is helping to unlock Egypt’s full potential as a competitive and sustainable industrial destination.

Could you outline the specific forms of support that GAFI provided to Mapei in the process of establishing its new plant in Egypt?

GAFI has been a key partner in Mapei’s journey to establish its new manufacturing plant in Egypt, providing direct support at every stage of the process.

For Mapei, one of the world’s leading producers of construction chemicals, entering the Egyptian market with a local manufacturing base was a strategic move to better serve both domestic demand and regional markets. GAFI helped make this possible through a series of tailored interventions, offering guidance from day one by supporting Mapei in navigating Egypt’s investment framework and ensuring full clarity on legal, regulatory, and procedural requirements, which enabled Mapei’s management team to make confident decisions early on.

Through its one-stop shop, GAFI streamlined the company’s licensing and registration processes in a very short time, eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy and allowing Mapei to focus on construction and operations. It also provided strategic site selection insights on industrial zones with the right infrastructure, utilities, and logistics connectivity, ensuring that Mapei’s manufacturing plant was positioned to serve both the fast-growing local construction sector and neighbouring export markets.

GAFI also guided Mapei through the various administrative steps of the approval process, ensuring that required authorizations were obtained efficiently and without unnecessary delays.

Furthermore, we also involved Mapei in a series of high-level meetings, including with the Egyptian Prime Minister, offering the opportunity to present the project and directly address any possible concern.

Beyond establishment, GAFI continues to act as a facilitator for Mapei, supporting future expansion plans, connecting the company with local partners, and ensuring it remains aligned with Egypt’s broader industrial strategy.

Mapei’s new manufacturing plant stands as a symbol of Egypt’s openness to global investment and a testament to GAFI’s role in creating a business environment where international companies can grow, innovate, and thrive.

The government's objective is to make Egypt a regional hub for industry, commerce and innovation

In your view, what are the main strengths that position Egypt as an attractive destination for leading international investors such as Mapei?

Egypt combines several unique strengths that make it a compelling destination for international investors. Its strategic geographic location at the crossroads of Africa, Europe, and Asia offers unmatched access to regional and global markets, supported by an extensive network of trade agreements that open doors to over 1.5 billion consumers. The country also benefits from a large and dynamic domestic market, fueled by a population exceeding 100 million and growing demand in key sectors such as construction and infrastructure. At the policy level, Egypt has implemented ambitious economic reforms to improve the business environment. Through GAFI, investors enjoy streamlined procedures, regulatory clarity, and competitive incentives. Combined with a skilled workforce and competitive cost base, these factors create an ecosystem where global companies can operate efficiently and expand confidently. For leading players like Mapei, Egypt offers not only a strong local platform but also a strategic hub for regional growth.

The city of Cairo hosts the headquarters of GAFI, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones.

Looking to the future, what opportunities and strategic directions do you envisage for foreign investors in Egypt, and how will GAFI continue to facilitate their growth?

Egypt is moving into a new era of investment, with major opportunities in manufacturing, construction materials, renewable energy, logistics, and digital transformation. The government’s vision is to position Egypt as a regional hub for industry, trade, and innovation, leveraging its unique location, young workforce, and expanding infrastructure.

For foreign investors, this translates into vast potential to serve both Egypt’s large domestic market and surrounding regions in Africa, Middle East, and Europe. Industrial zones, free zones, and new logistics corridors are being developed to provide state-of-the-art facilities and connectivity.

GAFI will continue to drive this momentum by expanding digital investor services, tailoring incentives for priority sectors, and strengthening aftercare support for companies already established in Egypt.

By fostering partnerships and ensuring a transparent, investor-friendly climate, GAFI aims to position Egypt not only as an attractive investment destination but as a strategic base for long-term regional growth.

Interviewee

Hossam Heiba

President of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones