For our sixth and final panel, we brought on the guys who we think are likely to be Egypt’s first climate billionaires by building one of the most exciting of Egypt's climate startups — Shift EV,  which efficiently and cost-effectively converts fleets from internal combustion engines into electric vehicles. We spoke with its co-founder and CEO, Aly El Tayeb, who started Shift EV in his basement, and Karim Hussein, managing partner at Algebra Ventures, and one of Aly’s first...

We interviewed on stage Leslie Reed, former mission director for USAID in Egypt and current director for Jordan. Leslie discussed the role development finance has in moving the needle on climate  — including a dive into how USAID is trying to help us save the coral reefs along the Red Sea coast. She also discussed the importance of developing human capital, the need for business and regulators to work together to expedite initiatives, and whether grants or blended finance would work best to...

The massive re-plumbing of the global economy to become more climate-friendly comes at a very high cost. So, how are we going to fund it all? In come the banks. Banks are no different than the rest of us: They want to know where the opportunities are. They worry about not doing enough, but also about being accused of greenwashing. They want to be part of the solution. So, how are they contributing and pushing companies and clients to be more sustainable? Participants: Todd Wilcox...

EFG Hermes Research Managing Director and Head of Strategy Simon Kitchen joins us on stage to talk about how business leaders across global growth markets are coping with climate change — and the macro factors that are both shaping opportunities and constraining room to act. Simon covers markets ranging from Egypt to Vietnam, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Kenya and regularly speaks with senior management from companies across the full spectrum of industries, from banks to electronics...

We dive deep into what the business leaders in the climate industry in Egypt and the region have to say about how the private sector is adopting greentech, where they see the opportunities and what they’d like policymakers to do to encourage further participation. Key takeaways include: There’s appetite for climate — particularly in adaptation, what policies they’d like when it comes to green energy, and how climate could be the big export opportunity for Egypt.   Participants: Amr Allam...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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.   Must...

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...

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...

In this episode of The Enterprise Podcast, our What’s Next editor Gehad Hussein hosts a roundtable discussion with several AI players in Egypt. Our private sector guests gathered for an in-depth conversation on the status of the sector in Egypt and how companies can get started with their AI activities. The bottom line is to have the right talent and tools in place, while being very mindful of what data is being collected. And most importantly: start out with a pilot project, before going...

In this episode of The Enterprise Podcast, Patrick continues his roundtable discussion with major fintech players in Egypt. This week, our private sector guests stuck around for an in-depth conversation on where the sector goes from here in terms of funding and consolidation — at home and abroad. The general consensus appears to be that while valuations in Egypt are still primed to go up, growth is expected to slow down in light of the current macro climate and historic pitfalls like the...

In this episode of The Enterprise Podcast, Patrick hosts a roundtable discussion with major players in the sector to discuss what’s next for fintech. Our entrepreneurs and investors take us through the untapped potential of fintech and which industries in Egypt are most primed for change through fintech. We also get rare insights from the central bank on what regulators are working on to help expand and propel Egypt’s fintech sector to the next stage of its development, including a new law to...

In our pilot episode, we sit down with International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat to discuss a variety of different topics including her personal philosophy on economic reform, and her career trajectory from the youngest intern at the IMF to her public service at the Egyptian Central Bank, the Ministry of Tourism and her current role at the MOIC. Al Mashat outlines the economic diplomacy responsibilities of her ministry, which coordinates bilateral, multilateral and multi stakeholder...

The Enterprise Show is an Egypt-focused business, policy and pop culture talk show, produced by Enterprise, the daily brief on all matters business, finance, and economics. Each episode will see us sit down with interesting and impactful business leaders, policy-makers, and cultural icons to discuss their life's successes, failures, and their views on major topics that shape Egypt today See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.