New Companies Law mandates electronic government approvals within 20 days: Heiba
Updated 9/29/2025 9:12:00 AM
Arab Finance: Hossam Heiba, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), announced that the new Companies Law will require all government approvals to be completed electronically within 20 working days.
The new measure, scheduled to be presented before the new House of Representatives in its first session, aligns with the timeline already applied to companies granted the Golden License.
Heiba’s remarks were made during his speech in a panel discussion entitled “Macroeconomic Reforms in Egypt as a Catalyst for Investment”, held as part of the third edition of the Egyptian Entrepreneurship Sector Annual Report Summit 2025. Gehan Saleh, Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister, and Omar El-Shenety, Co-Founder of Zilla Capital, participated in the talks.
The panel session touched upon the pivotal role of economic reforms in boosting the attractiveness of the Egyptian market to both local and foreign investors through improving the business climate, developing legislation, and enhancing infrastructure.
The economic reforms also aim to promote sustainable growth, support entrepreneurship, and empower the private sector to assume its role as a key partner in achieving economic development.
Startups are the primary beneficiaries of streamlined investment procedures, Heiba noted, adding that they were previously the most burdened by lengthy incorporation periods and complex procedures compared with larger, more capitalized companies.
He affirmed that all companies currently benefit from a simplified digital process within the framework of the international best practices.
Moreover, the GAFI has been training its African partners to replicate Egypt’s experience in streamlining procedures and improving investor services.
During the discussion, Heiba reviewed the efforts of the Permanent Unit for Entrepreneurship and Startup Support, hosted by GAFI, which works to establish bridges among all stakeholders engaged in improving the entrepreneurship environment.
The unit helps achieve the state’s objectives by developing mechanisms to enhance the performance of this rapidly growing sector.
The CEO affirmed that GAFI is formulating a comprehensive strategy to outline targets for the sector, including the number of new startups, their expected growth rates, and priority activities for support.
This will follow the development of databases on the needs and growth opportunities of startups, as well as a review of the experiences of more than twenty countries in supporting startups.
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