73% of small and medium businesses in Egypt are confident that their business will do well over the coming year, according to Mastercard’s inaugural MEA SME Confidence Index. 85% of businesses surveyed said they believed their revenues would grow or hold steady over the coming 12 months, with 68% projecting an increase.

But 43% said they remained concerned over challenges to growing their business: Half of respondents said the rising cost of doing business was the main thing on their mind, while 46% said getting access to capital was their top concern.

What do these companies need to grow? 47% want better access to training and development, 45% said they needed better data and insights, while others said expanding their acceptance of digital payments would be what would kick start their business growth.

SMEs really want to get involved in partnerships: 57% said private sector partnerships had the biggest potential to positively impact their business, while 52% said they could benefit from government-led initiatives.

Across the region, 81% of respondents on average expressed optimism in their growth prospects over the next year. Of the approximately 100 businesses surveyed in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, SME’s in the UAE were the most optimistic, with 88% saying they were hopeful about the coming year. In Saudi Arabia, 83% said they were confident in future growth.