In this fourth episode of BOLD Thinkers, we travel to the heart of one of the world’s most powerful megacities: Cairo.

Today, Cairo is the largest city on the African continent, home to more than 20 million people and projected to reach nearly 38 million inhabitants by 2050. More than a historic capital, Cairo is a city of layers — shaped by thousands of years of civilizations, yet constantly reinventing itself to meet the challenges of the future.

Often seen through the lens of its monuments and past empires, Cairo reveals a much deeper reality: a living, breathing megacity driven by resilience, innovation, and strategic ambition. In this episode, we explore the forces that make Cairo a rising global challenger — from informal resilience and grassroots innovation, to renewable energy leadership and digital infrastructure.

Through business, academic and entrepreneurial perspectives, this episode shows how Cairo is not just adapting to the future, but actively building it.

About the host :

Fatou Ndiaye is the host of this program. With this podcast, her aim is to highlight the voices and perspectives of emerging leaders from regions where sustainability challenges are most pressing.

Guests of the episode:

Fatou Ndiaye is joined by three key voices :

• Mirette Sawiris, Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for Egypt, the Levant, and Northeast Africa at Schneider Electric, leading sustainability-driven energy innovation across the region.
• Sherif Goubran, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Design at the American University in Cairo, focusing on transforming the built environment toward systemic sustainability.
• Abdelrahman Ayman, Co-founder and COO of Educatly, a global higher education platform empowering millions of learners across Cairo, Nairobi, Lagos and Dubai.

About the podcast:

BOLD Thinkers is a podcast series dedicated to bringing forward the voices from regions where sustainability challenges are critical. Each episode features voices from different mega cities around the world, exploring the challenges and solutions for creating sustainable futures. This podcast is a call to action for listeners to engage in positive change.

Bold Thinkers is a podcast supported by the HEC Paris Sustainability & Organizations Institute and Schneider Electric.

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Bold Thinkers is a podcast produced by the HEC Impact Company Lab and CALLIOPÉ.

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