My Morning Routine: Rawan Bassam, country manager at Enpact

Rawan Bassam, country manager at Enpact: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day, and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Enpact Country Manager Rawan Bassam (LinkedIn). Edited excerpts from our conversation:

I’m Rawan Bassam, and I work with Enpact. I’m very passionate about building and supporting entrepreneurial ecosystems, so that’s essentially what I do, mainly within Egypt and the wider region. What I enjoy most is that my day-to-day involves working with people who are trying to build something, whether that be founders, stakeholders, or institutions. We support them in turning their ideas into something tangible and impactful. That’s me in a nutshell.

My role at Enpact is largely about translating the organization’s strategic direction into on-the-ground implementation. I support the rollout of different programs and make sure everything, from selection processes to impact measurement, is running smoothly and actually delivering value. A big part of what I do is also aligning and communicating with different stakeholders, which can sometimes be complex.

At its core, Enpact is trying to bridge the gap between potential and access. There are many talented entrepreneurs, but they often lack access to funding, networks, or tailored support. At the same time, institutions don’t always have the right tools to support them effectively. Our role is to connect both sides and close that gap.

My mornings start with coffee — that’s non-negotiable. I try to ease into the day slowly, giving myself 30-45 minutes without checking my phone or email. I focus on hydration and getting some sunlight. Lately, I’ve been learning to play the handpan, and I spend some time in the morning just improvising. It helps me feel grounded and present before the day picks up with emails, calls, and everything else.

There’s no such thing as a normal workday for me. Most days are a mix of meetings, planning, decision-making, and problem-solving. I try to structure my time by grouping meetings into specific slots, leaving the early morning and later parts of the day for deep, focused work.

Staying organized comes down to prioritization. Not everything that feels urgent is actually important. I try to focus on what truly matters and break larger goals into smaller, more manageable steps. That makes things more achievable and keeps everything moving.

One of the most interesting shifts I’m seeing right now is the move from supporting individual entrepreneurs to strengthening entire ecosystems. We’re seeing this in projects like Scale it Forward, which we’re implementing in Egypt with GIZ under the Invest for Jobs umbrella. The focus is expanding to include financial institutions, not just founders, with growing attention on alternative financing tools like venture debt.

Looking ahead, both personally and professionally, I see growth coming from the increasing regional scope of our work. Enpact has a very flat, agile structure, and over the past year and a half we’ve become much more involved in regional projects. The Egypt team is now actively working on projects in Kurdistan and across the African continent, engaging directly with youth from different countries. That exposure is pushing us, and me, to grow.

When it comes to work-life balance, I don’t think it’s something fixed. It changes depending on the phase you’re in, both personally and professionally. What matters is being intentional about creating space to recharge. Sometimes work takes priority, other times you need to step back, reset, and come back stronger. It’s a constant adjustment.

To switch off, I spend a lot of time with my dog, Stella. She’s a big part of how I unwind and being around her helps me disconnect while still feeling present. I also enjoy simple things like going for a walk or just relaxing at home. Music plays a role too, whether it’s the handpan or the piano, which I used to play.

Recently, I read The Shadow Dance by David Richo, which explores how unconscious patterns shape how we show up in our lives. I also watched the latest season of The Bear. It’s intense, very human, and does a great job of showing how high-pressure environments affect people on a personal level.

One piece of advice that really stuck with me came from Hany Naguib. It was about how the quality of our experiences isn’t defined by how many things we do, but by how deeply we engage with them. It’s easy to chase volume, but what really matters is depth, focusing on one thing at a time and extracting real value and learning from it.