Shopify till you drop

Good afternoon, folks, and kudos to you for making it to the weekend. On the Made in Egypt front today: Egyptian homegrown brands should, on paper, be fleeing USD-denominated software. Instead, they’re doubling down on Shopify, with almost 13k Egyptian stores now running on it, up 85% from a year ago. The founders we spoke to say the USD bill matters less than knowing the platform won’t fail them and that local alternatives haven’t made it onto their radar yet. We also tested a vase, a set of cushions, and a set of coasters from three Egyptian brands. Two hit, one didn’t.

Elsewhere in today’s issue: Netflix released The One About Matthew Perry, a tribute documentary about the man who played Chandler Bing. The screen went black, and our eyes went puffy. We also list all the football we’re watching this weekend.

AND- Don’t forget to turn your clocks back an hour before you go to sleep tonight, as daylight saving time ends at midnight, meaning 12am on Friday becomes 11pm on Thursday.

Now, onto the headlines...