CIRA lines up EGP 2 bn expansion across education, healthcare, and vocational training

Our Friends at CIRA Education are lining up EGP 2 bn in fresh investment over the next two years as the company transforms from a school and university operator into an integrated platform spanning education, healthcare, and job-focused vocational training, CEO Mohamed Kalla said during a press conference attended by EnterpriseAM.

The capital-markets plan: CIRA’s sister company Egyptians for Healthcare Services (EHCS) — the developer behind Capital Med — is preparing to float a stake on the EGX in 4Q 2026. This marks the second delay since the IPO was pushed back to 3Q2026 from 2Q. The planned EHCS float would provide the liquidity needed to add 150 beds to the Suez Road medical city’s initial operating capacity of 250 beds. The longer-term target is to reach 4.5k-5k beds within 10 years and turn the company into the region’s largest medical-education operator by 2035. To finance the medical city, EHCS closed Egypt’s first sustainability-linked musharaka sukuk last year, raising EGP 2.4 bn from a syndicate of lenders.

CIRA’s expansion is moving into new markets: CIRA is entering agricultural and hospitality education through international partnerships while building a presence in the US and Germany. The company has acquired 25% of Washington-based Falcon Academy and is considering raising its stake. Saxony Egypt University has also opened its first center in Germany to connect Egyptian students with the German labor market and provide training prospects.

Scale is CIRA’s answer to affordability: The company is relying on a larger student base to absorb inflation and higher construction costs without pricing out its core middle-class market, El Kalla said. This approach has allowed CIRA to cap annual tuition increases at 16% over the past six years. The company is targeting 80k students by September 2026 and plans to eventually move beyond the 100k mark.

Two new universities are on the slate: CIRA plans to open its Damietta University in September 2027, followed by the Canadian Seneca University in Badr City in September 2028. Seneca will specialize in technology, AI, and cybersecurity. The projects build on EGP 3 bn invested by CIRA over the past two years.

Applied education is getting its own allocation: CIRA will earmark EGP 150 mn through 2030 — excluding land costs — for technology-focused education. The plan includes launching its first agricultural technology schools and partnering with global hospitality group Accor to operate a university-affiliated teaching hotel for tourism-sector trainees.

MEANWHILE- One of CIRA’s subsidiaries is also negotiating a EGP 1 bn facility with a banking consortium, though no final agreement has been reached, the company clarified in a disclosure to the bourse (pdf).

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