Canada is spending nearly $10 million over six years to support young entrepreneurs in Egypt’s “agribusiness sector,” but questions are mounting over Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC) ability to ensure meaningful outcomes for taxpayers.

The funding, announced earlier this month by Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen, will be channeled through Colleges and Institutes Canada to create a “learning hub” connecting over 20,000 Egyptian students with training and internships in climate-smart agriculture. While the project promises to foster food security and economic opportunity in the Beheira, Gharbia, and Menofia regions, critical details remain unclear.

This $10 million pledge follows a pattern of lofty promises and limited transparency, most recently highlighted in the $35 million Africa aid announcement, which was also criticized for lacking measurable goals and accountability.

Concerns Over Implementation

Minister Hussen described the Egyptian initiative as a way to “advance education, food security, and climate-smart job opportunities.” However, GAC has not provided sufficient information about how the project will be evaluated or whether its ambitious goals will translate into tangible benefits for those involved.

Last year, the Auditor General flagged GAC’s lack of oversight as a systemic problem, noting that incomplete project files and poor data management left the department unable to track the outcomes of its major gender equality initiatives. This announcement does nothing to suggest that such issues have been addressed.

Canada has provided $50 million in development assistance to Egypt since 2018, focusing on what it says is youth employment, entrepreneurship, and climate adaptation. While the funding may bolster bilateral ties, critics argue that Canadians should question the efficacy of such programs when urgent domestic challenges, like healthcare and housing, remain unmet.

The $10 million commitment to Egypt also shares troubling parallels with Canada’s $55 million humanitarian pledge to Syria earlier this year. In that case, Coastal Front uncovered that GAC had no clear plan for distributing the funds, raising broader questions about accountability in foreign aid spending.

Taxpayer Accountability Still Elusive

With the $10 million Egyptian aid package now on the books, Canadians are left wondering whether the recently announced $35 million gender equality fund for Africa will follow the same opaque path. Both announcements highlight GAC’s recurring pattern of ambitious promises but little transparency about how money is allocated or whether measurable outcomes are achieved.

As Canada continues to commit millions in international aid, taxpayers are still left asking the same questions: Where is this money going, and how will its impact be tracked?

For more on Canada’s record of murky foreign aid spending, read Coastal Front’s investigation into Syrian funding HERE.