Happy THURSDAY, friends. We’re just about ready to jump into the weekend after what has been a surprisingly busy week.

We’re only four days away from meeting with some of you at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum, taking place at the Four Seasons at the Nile Plaza on Monday, 15 May.

We’re proud to announce that our friend Nada El Ahwal, CSO at Transmar, is joining us for the forum. Are you? Nada El Ahwal is going to be speaking on how industrial clusters can be better leveraged to raise our exports. She is joined on stage for that discussion by Shady William, managing director at IDG, and Mohamed ElGebely, team leader at USAID Trade, to discuss how industrial clusters can be used to better the quality of our exports and become a platform for SMEs to become part of our export-led growth.

Who else is speaking? Among the CEOs, top execs, bankers, and development finance folks speaking at the conference are (in no particular order): Mohamed Talaat Khalifa, CEO of Concrete; Hossam Abou Moussa, partner at Apis; Hassan Massoud, associate director and head of private equity (Southern Mediterranean) at EBRD; Tarek Hosny, head of investments and projects at Fertiglobe; Mark Wyllie, CEO of Beyti; Kareem Abou Ghali, chairman and CEO of Pasta Regina; Hossam Sallab, CEO and vice-chairman of Sallab Group and Royal Ceramica; Tarek Kamel, CEO at Nestle Egypt; Omar Elsahy, general manager of Amazon Egypt; Yasmine Khamis, chair of the Orientals Group, Cheick-Oumar Sylla, director for North Africa and Horn of Africa at IFC; Helmy Ghazi, deputy CEO of HSBC Egypt; Khaled Morsy, CEO at DB Schenker; Nadia El-Tawil, investment officer at AfricInvest; Shams Eweis, corporate affairs director, Egypt, North Africa and Levant at Mars; Mostafa Bedeir, CEO of Giza Seeds and Herbs; Abdallah Sallam, CEO of Madinet Masr; and Yassir Zouaoui, partner at McKinsey.

Topics and live interviews will include:

  • Why exports and FDI are the way forward and what lessons have worked from around the world;
  • How to attract foreign partners and figure out what they are looking for;
  • What lessons can we draw from white goods, fertilizers, and garments exporters who have increased our exports;
  • What are the fundamentals to creating an export and / or FDI strategy;
  • What it takes to secure a place in a multinational’s supply chain.
  • How Egypt’s industries need to be open to evolution to become more competitive.

Tap or click here to explore the full agenda.


** Have you confirmed your attendance? Invitations have been sent out over the past few weeks. If you have yet to confirm your attendance and would still like to join us, please reply to the invitation with an RSVP.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Gold customs exemption isn’t going to have a weight limit: A decision that allows Egyptians living abroad to import gold to Egypt without paying customs duties for a six-month period will not be limited to gold imports below a certain weight, Assistant Supply Minister Ibrahim Ashmawy told reporters, according to Hapi Journal. Imports of gold coins or ounces also will not be subject to VAT, Ashmawy said, noting that the tax will only be imposed on gold with craftwork. Ashmawy’s statements come after the Madbouly Cabinet signed off on the decision yesterday.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

It’s a relatively mixed bag of nuts and bolts in the international business press this afternoon, but SoftBank posting a record USD 39 bn loss in its Vision fund is making the rounds. Despite the widening loss in the tech-heavy segment, Softbank narrowed its overall losses after selling down its stake in Alibaba. The story is getting attention this afternoon from Reuters, CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times.

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

  • TE stake sale to start this week? Government plans to sell a minority stake in Telecom Egypt to investors look to be back on the table.
  • Wind farms attract investor interest: Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, the UAE’s Alcazar Energy and our friends at local renewables firm Infinity are reportedly among seven companies interested in acquiring Egypt’s two largest wind farms.
  • Inflation eased for the first time in 10 months in April thanks to a favorable base effect, the stabilization of the EGP-USD exchange rate, and a slight slowdown in food price growth.

WANT TO START A CAREER IN INVESTOR RELATIONS ADVISORY?Enterprise Advisory (formerly known as Inktank Communications) is looking for smart, talented people to help us tell the stories of exciting companies. Enterprise Advisory is the region’s leading investor relations advisory company and works on investor and strategic communications issues that take you deep inside the c-suite. Our clients are in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and beyond. Egyptian and foreign nationals alike are welcome to apply.

NEVER WORKED IN INVESTOR RELATIONS OR ADVISORY BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Advisory Development Program. The four-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran investor relations and advisory professionals, while also applying their knowledge in a practical setting. Those who successfully complete the program will be offered full-time positions on staff for a chance to work in a flexible and supportive — but still fast-paced — work environment that eschews micromanagement and rewards good work. Enterprise Advisory offers the chance to build a network of high-ranking individuals across some of the largest and most influential companies in the region through direct exposure to clients.

During the program, you’ll learn:

  • Finance for non-finance people;
  • How to analyze businesses, their business models, their strategic advantages, and their strategies;
  • How to take that information and then tell an audience of investors, journalists, and analysts a compelling and well-developed story;
  • How to frame individual companies’ stories within the wider macroeconomic environment.

Career switchers are very welcome.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “advisory development program” in your subject line.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The weekend is set to be pleasantly warm and sunny, bringing us daytime highs of 32°C tomorrow and Saturday, with nighttime lows of 16°C on both days, our favorite weather app suggests.

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