This paper aims to assess the Haya Karima initiative, launched by the Egyptian government in 2019, which targets rural communities to achieve inclusive development and eliminate poverty. The paper examines the goals, interventions, and scale of the initiative and uses official data to provide indicators of its operations. Additionally, the paper analyzes rural vulnerability and poverty in Egypt, with a focus on employment opportunities and quality. Hussein Suleiman argues that while the initiative has been scaled up significantly, it has been inadequately planned and disproportionately focuses on infrastructure interventions that are unlikely to eliminate poverty. The paper proposes institutional reform as a necessary route to inclusive development and job creation in rural and urban Egypt, and recommends policy changes to address vulnerability and poverty in the country.