EnterpriseAM | Egypt

Egypt brought home major victories from COP27. We signed framework agreements for about USD 85 bn worth of green hydrogen projects. We also announced more than USD 10 bn in funding for the Nexus for Food, Water and Energy, or NWFE — a USD 15 bn program for Egypt. While we have a long way to go before much of the wins from COP27 will be tangible to the private sector, the opportunities in green hydrogen and NWFE are “now.” Our panelists helped explain how these two can be made actionable. 

Participants:

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (Linkedin), CEO, Hydrogen Europe

Khalid Hamza (Linkedin),  Director and head of Egypt, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Khaled Naguib, CEO, Hydrogen Egypt

Interviewed by: Patrick FitzPatrick, Editor-in-Chief, Enterprise. Moustafa Bassiouny, Partner, The Enterprise Company

You can read our coverage of the panel here: https://enterprise.news/news/story?storyId=a197d083-f6fc-4194-8b1b-80f36f980dc7

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The business world is constantly evolving, bringing us advancements in age-old industries, and entirely new industries that crop up in response to — or end up driving — these developments. We sat down with industry leaders, who have already adapted to changes and emerging trends in the past to better position their businesses for a constantly evolving world. 

Participants:

Nadia El Tawil (LinkedIn), Investment Officer, AfricInvest

Mostafa Bedair (LinkedIn), CEO, Giza Seeds and Herbs

Abdallah Sallam (LinkedIn),  CEO, Madinet Masr

Interviewed by: Salma El-Saeed, Senior Managing Editor, Enterprise.

You can read our coverage of the panel here: 

https://enterprise.news/news/story?storyId=75fa1d28-ba80-4708-9b16-9c5cfbd7c7d3

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The Enterprise Podcast now brings you recordings of our on-stage and live panels that took place at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum.

Panel 6: Industrial clusters: A natural accelerant for both exports and SME development

We look at whether industrial clusters — which have been used to great effect elsewhere —  can be a way for SMEs to be part of a potential export-oriented economy. Our speakers shed light on where industrial zones are working for us already, how Egypt can leverage clusters to get a bigger slice of that cross-border trade, and how industrial clusters can bring together SMEs to work with larger firms.

Participants:

Shady Williams (LinkedIn), Managing Director, IDG

Mohamed ElGebely (LinkedIn), Team Leader, USAID Trade

Nada El Ahwal (LinkedIn), CSO, Transmar.

Interviewed by: Katie McMahon, Managing Editor, Enterprise, and Hisham Abdien, Executive Editor, Enterprise. 

You can read our coverage of the panel here: https://enterprise.news/news/story?storyId=fea8aa18-2731-456a-96e8-6b16d91c2363&prev=false

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The Enterprise Podcast now brings you recordings of our on-stage and live panels that took place at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum.

Panel 5: How to become part of a multinational’s supply chain

We ask some of the biggest multinationals and suppliers operating here — in logistics, e-commerce, and FMCG  — what it is they’re looking for in a local partner, product or service and what are some of the pain points they’ve had to deal with.

Participants:

Khaled Morsy (Linkedin), CEO, DB Schenker Egypt

Omar Elsahy (Linkedin), General Manager, Amazon Egypt

Tarek Kamel (Linkedin), Chairman and CEO, Nestlé Egypt and Sudan

Interviewed by: Hisham Abdien, Executive Editor, Enterprise. 

You can read our coverage of the panel here: https://logistics.enterprise.news/news/story?storyId=36a15026-935c-4002-b3dc-7018ccdacdf3

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From deciding the target markets, to focusing on quality, marketing in new markets, and restructuring a business around exports, our panelists discuss and provide key insights on what businesses need to focus on when building an exports and FDI strategy. 

Participants:

Hossam Sallab (Linkedin), CEO and Vice-Chairman, Sallab Group and Royal Ceramica

Mark Wyllie (Linkedin),  CEO, Beyti Egypt

Kareem Abou Ghaly (Linkedin), CEO, Pasta Regina

Interviewed by: Zainab AbdulAziz , Managing Editor, Enterprise

You can read our coverage of the panel here: https://enterprise.news/news/story?storyId=aa92abce-b6c4-4981-ae72-d1198ed96c9b

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Enterprise Podcast now brings you recordings of our on-stage and live panels that took place at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum.

Panel 3: Made in Egypt: Lessons from FMCG, fertilizers, and garments.

Food and beverages, fertilizers and chemical products, and textiles and garments are consistently among the three industries that either have the highest value of exports out of Egypt. We spoke to some of the winners from these key industries to gauge what they did right, what obstacles they overcame.

Participants:

Mohamed Talaat Khalifa (Linkedin), CEO of Concrete 

Shams Eweis (Linkedin), Corporate Affairs Manager for North Africa and the Levant, Mars 

Tarek Hosny (Linkedin), Head of Investments and Projects, Fertiglobe

Interviewed by: Salma El Saeed, Senior Managing Editor, Enterprise

You can read our coverage of the panel here:

https://enterprise.news/news/story?storyId=aa92abce-b6c4-4981-ae72-d1198ed96c9b

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Enterprise Podcast now brings you recordings of our on-stage and live panels that took place at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum.

Panel 2: How do you identify and pitch foreign partners — and how can they identify you?

Whether they’re investors, technology providers, potential JV partners, or would-be acquirers, they all want to know what’s in it for them. How do you figure out what they’re looking for — and whether that dovetails with what you want or need?

Participants:

Hossam Abou Moussa (Linkedin), Partner, Apis

Hassan Massoud (Linkedin), associate director and head of private equity (Southern Mediterranean), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Cheick-Oumar Sylla (Linkedin), Director for North Africa and Horn of Africa, International Finance Corporation

Interviewed by: Moustafa Bassiouny. Partner, The Enterprise Company

You can read our coverage of the panel here:

https://enterprise.news/news/story?storyId=6756c86f-f7e5-4cbd-9445-8e941a356641

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Enterprise Podcast now brings you recordings of our on-stage and live panels that took place at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum.

Panel 1: No looking back: Exports and FDI are the way forward — here are lessons from what’s worked around the world.

Participants:

Yassir Zouaoui (LinkedIn), Partner, McKinsey.

Yasmine Khamis (LinkedIn), Chair, The Orientals Group.

In discussion with: Helmy Ghazi, deputy CEO, HSBC Egypt and Hisham Abdien, executive editor, Enterprise.

You can read our coverage of the panel here: https://enterprise.news/news/story?storyId=69da074e-7e5a-45b1-b243-caf5c1a338b6

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How CIRA evolved into a fully vertically-integrated, multifaceted, education platform and became CIRA Education: Since its founding in 1993, Egypt’s largest listed private sector education company, CIRA Education (formerly just CIRA), weathered many storms and challenges to the sector.  Just two years ago, covid had shut down classrooms, distance learning was a thing, and foreign ownership limits had been instituted for the private sector. Most recently, the sector was slammed by the high inflation, while legacy problems remain, including a high population to classroom ratio and a fragmented regulatory environment. CIRA Education survived these changes by not just adapting, but leading on some of the sector’s milestones.

This year was no different. CIRA Education is helping proliferate liberal arts education in Upper Egypt with the launch of Badr University. It is also introducing the concept of technical universities to Egypt by breaking ground soon on Cairo Saxony university. The company is also making its foray into pre-K outside of Cairo with the launch of a pre-K school in Fayum. There’s also CIRA Talent that looks to build viable career paths for artists, dancers, musicians and athletes across the nation. And running the infrastructure for the whole operation is CIRA Services.

Then, there’s the company’s three-year, EGP 2 bn future flow bond sale — Egypt’s first — which not only made the company an innovator in finance, but gave added credibility to the argument that education is a defensive sector. 

Here to discuss all that transformation with the Enterprise Podcast is CIRA Education’s CEO Mohamed El Kalla. His love for social entrepreneurship has its roots in his student days, where his advanced studies in refugee law saw him living with nuns, and his subsequent work with the UN saw him lead programs in Darfur. During his time there, the UN had begun to see the importance of the private sector in enacting tangible change on the ground and he himself had worked on developing CSR and sustainability practices and bottom of the pyramid social engagement. He took on those lessons when he returned to the family business back in 2009, where item #1 on his agenda was instituting transparent governance. He has helmed CIRA Education’s evolution ever since.

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How ASDC is transforming Somabay to a first-home destination: When Somabay first emerged as a tourist destination over two decades ago, it had little to offer other than its gorgeous 11-km coastline with a five-and-a-half km sandy beach. Fast forward to today and developer Abu Soma Touristic Development Company (ASDC) has made Somabay a home to a wide selection of luxury hotels and residential properties that exude a certain lifestyle.  

Enterprise sat down with Ibrahim El Messiri, the CEO of ASDC — the master developers of Somabay — who talks us through his strategy to make Somabay a first-home destination where people and families can live, work, study, and enjoy themselves. For El Messiri, this meant finding the right target market and creating the right identity and lifestyle for Somabay. 

El Messiri is no stranger to creating communities and developing cities, having worked with the likes of Bechtel for 15 years and Madinet Nasr Housing for three. His career saw him work on projects such as the Doha International Airport, the Channel Tunnel in the UK, and Abu Dhabi Port. 

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