Cabinet approves joint-stock company to operate Carry On retail chain

Egypt’s government has authorized the launch of a new joint-stock firm to run the national “Carry On” enterprise, partnering state bodies to expand agro-processing and squeeze higher financial returns from public assets, the head of the Agricultural Research Center, Adel Abdel Azim, told Al Manassa.

The Official Gazette published Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s decree on Wednesday licensing three public entities—the Future of Egypt Authority for Sustainable Development, the Holding Company for Food Industries, and the Agricultural Research Center—to establish the venture, which will direct all operational activities linked to the Carry On initiative.

The move follows the Ministry of Supply opening 20 new outlets in mid-September, pushing the venture’s footprint to 24 locations across several governorates to date.

According to the cabinet, the venture answers directives from the political leadership to revamp domestic commerce and retail infrastructure. 

Under this push, the Ministry of Supply aims to unify its entire consumer-facing apparatus—including state consumer cooperatives, the Gamaeyeti retail chain, and traditional ration grocers—under Carry On as a modernized brand umbrella.

Abdel Azim argued that the state must pivot away from raw-commodity sales to capture downstream revenue. With the Ministry of Agriculture controlling diverse primary goods, including rice, barley, legumes, vegetable oils, olive oil, jams, and baked goods, authorities can expand industrial processing rather than offloading unprocessed harvests. 

He pointed to higher-margin production chains, citing wheat milling into commercial flour rather than selling raw grain, or processing olives into bottled oil, generating greater economic yield from the country’s agricultural output.

The new corporate entity formalizes coordination among the Future of Egypt and the Ministries of Supply and Agriculture to pool existing state infrastructure. The joint company will leverage outlets, logistics hubs, sorting, packing, and packaging centers, alongside distribution vehicle fleets.

According to Abdel Azim, the company’s board of directors will map out an annual supply plan to stock retail shelves with agricultural and supply-ministry products, turning to foreign imports when domestic supplies fall short, while pledging quality standards and affordable price points.

He maintained that the enterprise intends to adopt flexible, private-sector management models to secure commercial efficiency, active marketing, and financial returns without inflating profit margins, balancing fiscal performance with competitive pricing.

The final count of retail outlets targeted for the project’s initial phase remains undecided. Abdel Azim noted that the board will address outlet targets during its meeting next week, following a full inventory of available assets and facilities across the partner bodies. 

That review will underpin a phased rollout calibrated to available capacity, after which the board will set the firm’s authorized and paid-in capital.

Abdel Azim added that the enterprise aims to compress supply chains and sideline traditional middlemen by contracting directly with growers—focusing on legumes and rice—to purchase bulk harvest yields and market them through the new entity’s retail branches.

The state’s consolidation drive has already stirred internal friction. In July, a member of the ministerial committee tasked with overhauling the subsidy apparatus told Al Manassa that the Ministry of Supply intended to present licensed ration grocers with an ultimatum: either fold their shops into the Carry On franchise or surrender their commercial licenses to a first- or second-degree relative. 

Supply Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Kamal subsequently denied the claim.