EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum’s AI edition wraps asking and answering all the right questions

Good afternoon, friends. We just wrapped this year’s EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum, and we want to thank every one of you who filled the room. The honest surprise of the day? The room stopped asking what AI can do and started debating what it costs, who stays accountable for it, and whether Egypt can build momentum in the sector — looking less wide-eyed than a year ago and asking all the right questions.

A taste of what’s to come in tomorrow’s edition of EnterpriseAM Egypt: Orange Egypt CEO Hesham Mahran told the forum what prompted Orange’s group CEO to visit Egypt and what that means for the future. EFG Holding’s Group CEO Karim Awad told the audience the EGX is heading toward a strong 4Q, bolstered by Gourmet earlier this year and more recently by MNT-Halan, with three more listings before year-end. And we have more details on the much-talked-about MNT-Halan listing as founder Mounir Nakhla took the stage to walk through the transaction structure and proceeds allocation plans, with the documents currently awaiting a final FRA stamp.

We’ll have fuller coverage tomorrow and throughout the week in our editions of EgyptAM, AI + Innovation, MENA+, and digitally on our Instagram and LinkedIn.

On the docket this afternoon: We sit down with Malik Tag, the co-founder of Raad Records — a Cairo-based independent label, less than two years old, employee-owned, and working with artists from across the Arab world. Tag spent a decade building other people’s startups before landing here, and the label reflects how he thinks a company should actually work. We also have Netflix’s adaptation of East of Eden starring Florence Pugh, which proved well worth the wait. That and more.

Without further ado, the international headlines…

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 Still getting plenty of ink are the Brazilian elections alongside reports of US bombers being recalled from RAF Fairford. But vying for the top spot this afternoon is Spain’s snap election, after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called an early vote for 29 November, bringing the election forward from 2027.

This comes just days after parliament rejected two emergency housing measures that Sánchez’s government had hoped would ease the country’s ongoing housing crisis, which has sparked nationwide protests. Sánchez’s Socialist Party currently leads a minority government, while the conservative Popular Party, which opposed the housing measures, is ahead in opinion polls.

^^Read more on: Bloomberg, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, and Reuters.

MEANWHILE- Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London today that the global oil supply resilience cushion is “scarily thin,” raising the risk of further market strain if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t fully reopen. Nasser said it could take up to two years to rebuild global oil inventories while maintaining demand. His comments came after G7 governments agreed to release as much as 100 mn barrels of diesel and crude to ease soaring fuel costs.

^^Read more on: Bloomberg, CNBC, and Financial Times.

The future of engineering in the age of AI with Youssef Rizk: What do you risk when you build your business on top of the world’s frontier AI models?

Youssef Rizk, CEO of Windfall and co-founder and CTO of Wondercraft, says,

“Look at Google’s graveyard.”

We discuss the present moment in tech and take a pause to ponder the future. Does AI replace people? Or does it add more work?

Listen to the episode on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Anghami | YouTube

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** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Rolling mills and steel producers are meeting on 11 October to coordinate their response to the safeguarding measures against anti-dumping duties on billet imports, before escalating the matter to the presidency, the Cabinet, and relevant ministries. The meeting follows an initial gathering held this week between 22 rolling mill representatives, appliance manufacturers, and engineering industry representatives aimed at pressuring the Investment and Foreign Trade Ministry to scrap the measures;
• Egypt’s push into Eastern Europe and the Balkans crystallized last week with the launch of the Arab-Balkans Corridor (ABC), a unified sea-rail-road trade route built by the private sector to link Egyptian ports with Southern and Eastern Europe. Under the new structure, cargo is collected at Egyptian gateways, primarily Port Said and Alexandria, transported by sea to Thessaloniki, Greece, and transferred to rail along Pan-European Corridor X through Sofia in Bulgaria and Niš in Serbia into broader Balkan and EU markets;
• The Future of Egypt for Sustainable Development Authority (Mostakbal Misr) resolved the bulk of investor appeals against the Tourism Development Authority’s (TDA) Red Sea land seizures, giving stalled hotel developers a path forward without losing their investments. A large percentage of investor appeals against land seizure decisions were accepted;
• The Finance Ministry is building a platform for Egyptians abroad to buy USD-denominated retail bonds and sukuk, with subscriptions opening in November and December. The paper pays out in USD, or its equivalent in foreign currencies, and expat workers and investors can subscribe directly. The aim is to widen the debt toolkit and cut what the state pays to lean on conventional instruments.

The Gulf’s sovereign funds and largest companies are committing bns to AI infrastructure at home and to AI companies in the US and beyond. EnterpriseAM AI + Innovation reports on where that capital goes, who controls it, and what it is actually buying.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we also cover the startups and established firms across MENA putting AI to work, and how it is changing jobs, education and the way business runs.

It’s sharp, analytical, and skeptical journalism that ignores hype and is laser-focused on informing our readers, not pleasing our sources.

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☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Things are looking up for the capital tomorrow as temperatures dip to a breezy high of 29°C, with a chilly overnight low of 20°C, according to our favorite weather app.