Egyptian government new consumer-spending initiative aims to stimulate some 25 billion Egyptian pounds worth of consumer spending is launching today with discounts of around 15-25% will be offered on a range of goods, said the minister of finance Mohamed Maait.

All consumers (Egyptian and foreign residents alike) can buy select goods including electronics, appliances, clothes, leather products, and furniture either through a dedicated website set up by the government or in stores and supply chains.

He pointed out that the objectives of the initiative are to stimulate consumption and local trade, which will double production at factories, and thus increase employment opportunities, which will be reflected on the economy through raising growth rates and creating job opportunities.

The initiative  is allowing sales through installments programmes while financing goods at low interest rates in cooperation with some Egyptian banks and consumer finance companies.

Nearly 1.2k manufacturers and merchants have reportedly signed up to offer discounts on some 4.2k products.

Terms and conditions of the program are online here; there is no limit for individual buying under the program.

Under the intiative, families on ration cards will get up to 1k pounds in additional spending power.  The initiative seeks to provide goods with discounts of up to 20 percent, and additional support of 10 percent starting from EGP200 to EGP 1,000 for each ration card, which is estimated at 12.25 billion poundspaid by the public treasury.