CIRA Education’s net enrollment rises to 84k students, surpassing target

Our friends at CIRA Education exceeded its net enrollment target for the 2026/27 academic year, rising to 84k students from 73.4k in 2025/26 across its K-12 schools and universities, it said in a press release (pdf). That surpasses its 80k student target and pushes it closer to its 100k mark by 2030.

A good year for CIRA: Roughly 17k new students joined CIRA’s network this year, drawn from more than 46k applications and interviews. Badr University in Assiut celebrated its first graduating class of 350 students. On the vocational side, CIRA expanded its technical schools from one to three, adding two agricultural technology schools in Ismailia and Sharqia. The company also launched postgraduate programs with an initial intake of 401 students.

REMEMBER- The company acquired 25% of Washington-based Falcon Academy and is considering raising its stake. Saxony Egypt University, which was founded through a JV with CIRA and Al Ahly Capital Holding, has also opened its first center in Germany to connect Egyptian students with the German labor market and provide training prospects. These initiatives drove up CIRA’s higher education revenue by 40% y-o-y to EGP 3.10 bn in the first nine months of FY 2025/26, while a larger school network and higher tuition fees contributed to its K-12 revenue growth.

Why it matters: The company is relying on a larger student base to absorb inflation and higher construction costs without pricing out its core middle-class market, CEO Mohamed Kalla previously told us. This approach has allowed CIRA to cap annual tuition increases at 16% over the past six years.

Raya’s new smart connection

Raya Holding for Financial Investments launched Raya Nexus, an AI subsidiary with an issued capital of EGP 250 mn, the investment conglomerate said in a bourse filing (pdf). Wholly owned by Raya and set up under a May board decision, the unit targets banks and fintechs with tools for credit decisioning, collections, customer value management, and engagement. Raya Nexus debuted regionally at Saudi Arabia’s Money20/20 Middle East and plans to expand across the region, starting with Egypt and the GCC, the filing read.

Raya Nexus’ offerings overlap with parent Raya Holding’s portfolio, which includes fintech arm Aman (microfinance, consumer finance, and e-payments) and separately listed Raya CX, a business process outsourcing (BPO) provider.

SOUND SMART- Credit decisioning is how a lender processes a loan: pulling applicant data, assessing risk, approving or declining, and setting pricing. Banks have historically used fixed scorecards built on bureau files and payslips. AI models now price off alternative data, such as transaction flows, telco and e-wallet behavior, and repayment patterns. That’s why lenders pushing into consumer finance, BNPL, and SME lending are the main buyers. Cairo-born Synapse Analytics, which sells AI decisioning tools to lenders, closed a USD 13 mn Partech-led Series A earlier this month.

Higher price tag

Kemet Data Center’s first-phase investment is now USD 270 mn, according to a statement from the Communications Ministry — up from the USD 150 mn figure we heard in March 2025. The project was originally planned as a four-phase buildout reaching 80 MW total, with the first 20 MW phase previously expected to come online this year. Intro Holding plans to build the Sokhna facility as the Suez Canal Economic Zone’s first Tier III-rated data center and says it has completed part of the engineering design work and signed contracts with several suppliers for equipment. The statement did not disclose an updated construction start or opening date.

Securing the supply

The Supply and Internal Trade Ministry is in talks with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to develop a grain logistics center in Egypt to strengthen food security and streamline commodity transport, according to a ministry statement. The proposed hub aims to modernize grain handling, transport, and storage efficiency. No details were provided on the hub’s location, cost, or capacity.

IN CONTEXT- The National Project of Silos has more than doubled the country’s grain storage since launching in 2015, bringing total capacity to 3.4 mn tons from 1.2 mn tons in 2014. Backed by EUR 90 mn in concessional financing by the EIB, the infrastructure push has helped slash post-harvest losses that have run as high as 15%. Just a few days ago, the ministry was also in talks with the Islamic Development Bank and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation to secure funding for new grain silos and edible oil storage tanks.