Hottest days on record

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: Taqa Arabia’s EGX debut slated for Sunday

Happy THURSDAY, wonderful people. We end this abridged week on a relatively calm note — save for news of some fresh paper on the bourse.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Trading on Taqa Arabia shares on the EGX will begin on Sunday under the ticker TAQA.CA, according to an EGX news bulletin. The Qalaa Holdings subsidiary received the green light for trading to begin from the Financial Regulatory Authority, according to a separate statement (pdf) from the regulator.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Prigozhin in Russia? Leader of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin is no longer in Belarus and may be in St Petersburg or Moscow, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said. Prigozhin agreed to move to Belarus as part of an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the Wagner Group’s aborted coup attempton Moscow. The story is getting widespread coverage this afternoon: Reuters | BBC| Bloomberg| Washington Post

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

FDI was the unofficial theme at yesterday’s cabinet meeting, with the Madbouly cabinet following up on several decisions aimed at improving the investment climate and boosting inflows.
House committees approve bills aimed at boosting private-sector investment: The House Economic Affairs Committee yesterday approved amendments to the Investment Lawaimed at expanding incentives, while the Budget and Planning Committee approved a draft bill reinstating taxes on state entities.
Scatec yesterday signed a land allocation agreement with the Electricity Ministry for a planned 5-GW wind farm in Sohag governorate.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

Day one is our Banking Forum, where we’ll dive deep into topics of interest to commercial and investment bankers, from an outlook on the 12 months to come in M&A, IPO, and debt capital markets to the national, regional, and global trends that are (re)shaping our industry.

Day two is all about Fintech and Non-Banking Financial Services. We’ll take a deep dive into everything from the magic of client acquisition to the prospects of consolidation and the coming of challenger banks.

** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

STAY TUNED for more detail about our agenda.

DID YOU MISS THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast and listen for yourself: The Enterprise Podcast is back with another installment of our forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum,which took place in May.

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- We looked at how Egyptian companies can identify and pitch foreign partners and how they can identify them. We asked how do companies figure out what they’re looking for — and whether that dovetails with what they want or need. We were joined on that panel by Hossam Abou Moussa, partner at PE firm Apis, Cheick-Oumar Sylla, director for North Africa and Horn of Africa at the International Finance Corporation, and Hassan Massoud, associate director and head of private equity (Southern Mediterranean) at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Expect us to drop an episode every Sunday morning. You can listen to the Enterprise Podcast where ever you get your podcasts including: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami.

ENTERPRISE IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. Enterprise — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region — is looking for writers, reporters and editors to help us build out new publications. Today, we run four daily Egypt and MENA-focused publications, five weekly industry verticals, and a weekend lifestyle edition designed to make our readers feel just a bit smarter.

We have tons more in the pipeline — come help us build new publications. We offer the chance to work in a fast-paced newsroom on a broad range of topics and in a variety of formats. Our goal is simple: To create value for our growing community of >250k daily readers by telling stories that matter.

NEVER WORKED IN A NEWSROOM BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program. Whether you are a recent graduate, an industry vet, or looking to switch careers, the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program will give you the tools you need to tell the most important stories to our audience of C-suite officials, government ministers, diplomats, financiers, investors and entrepreneurs.

Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists on subject matter knowledge, while also working on constructing and filing Enterprise stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The hot weather continues as the temperatures will be rising to 38°C and dipping to a fair 24°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.

Threads is here + The planet just had its warmest week on record

Is Threads pulling out the rug from under Twitter’s feet? Within a few hours of launching, Meta’s newest app, Threads, saw mns of new users joining, including celebrities including Kim Karadashian and Jenifer Lopez, fueling expectations that Threads is well on its way to unseating Twitter, according to Reuters. The mother company’s shares were up 3% at market close yesterday before the launch, Reuters notes, as analysts see the app’s income potential with its “built-in user base and advertisement apparatus.” Instagram users can set up a Threads account with the same followers.

What puts Threads ahead of Twitter? “Our vision is to take the best parts of Instagram and create a new experience for text, ideas, and discussing what's on your mind,” Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg said in a video posted to his Instagram account yesterday. Besides the recent string of questionable decisions imposed on Twitter users — including capping the number of tweets users can read per day — Threads allows its users to write posts up to 500 characters long (compared to 280 characters on Twitter). Posts can also include photos, videos up to five minutes long, and links, and can be shared directly to Instagram stories, according to a Meta blog post.

The planet saw its warmest days ever this week on Monday and Tuesday with average global temperatures reaching 17.18°C, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Analyzer, the Associated Press reports. Scientists have been raising the alarm about human activities — including the burning of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and oil — that have a direct impact on world temperatures and oceans. While the figures remain unofficial, they are potent indicators to the consequences of what could happen in the near future if carbon emissions are not curbed.

The highest temperatures since 1979: While the dataset used for the unofficial record only goes back a few decades, it is nonetheless indicative of longer-lasting trends. Already, 38 mn US citizens were placed on heat alert, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s chief scientist is quoted as saying. Many locations like Peru and Quebec experienced temperatures close to 37.8°C or 1.8°C higher than the past two centuries’ average.

Discover The Lost Pyramid with Zahi Hawass

? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Unknown: The Lost Pyramid:“An intact tomb is like a time capsule … the past is sleeping in the darkness, waiting to be found,” Zahi Hawass says in a new documentary that promises fresh discoveries and findings from Ancient Egypt. The new 84-minute feature stars two of the country’s most prominent archaeologists — Hawass and Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri — as they embark on a journey to “hunt for a pyramid” in Egypt’s sunbaked Saqqara. As they dig their ways deeper into the sand, the entire world has its eyes on what could be another extraordinary lens into the ancient world of the pharaohs.

We’re wrapping up the U-23 African Cup of Nations this weekend: Mali plays against Guinea tomorrow at 8pm to battle it out for third place in the tournament, which will also secure a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics. Whichever team loses tomorrow’s match will still have a chance to qualify for next year’s Olympics if they are able to come out on top in a separate play-off against an Asian runner-up team.

Egypt and Morocco, meanwhile, are playing for the championship title in the final match at 11pm on Saturday in Morocco. Both teams have already booked their spots in the Olympics, but the Pharaohs are going into the final match with their eyes on earning the title for the second time in a row, after earning it in the last edition in 2019.

Also on Saturday in the Egyptian Premier League: Al Ittihad v Al Ahly (7pm) and Future v Zamalek (9:30pm).

Bookworms, Dawayer Cultural Festival is for you: Tanmia and Diwan are co-organizing this cultural festival starting from today until Saturday, 15 July at Cinema Radio in downtown Cairo. The festival will include several activities that vary between creative writing workshops, storytelling circles, seminars for prominent authors and novelists such as Buthaina Al Essa and Ibrahim Abdel Majid. Check out Dawayer’s website for more information and the full schedule of events.

What have years done to us? A new play that uncovers the disparity between what we think, what we actually say and what is lost in between when it comes to relationships and love will be showing in the Rawabet Art Space from tomorrow through to Sunday. You can book your seats through TicketsMarche.

Ici le Soudan: A cultural event honoring Sudanese artists, hosted by the French Institute in Egypt: The event will include “an exhibition of Sudanese visual art, round-table discussions, short film screenings, book discussions and a major concert featuring more than 25 artists.” The two-day event will kick off next Monday, 10 July at the French Institute of Egypt, Mounira branch.

Amr Diab is coming to Sahel: When the light fades and the sun goes down, head to SOL Beach Bar at Marassi on Friday, 14 July to attend Amr Diab’s sunset party. The party will begin at 7pm. Tickets are available on TicketsMarche.

Mahmoud Saad will host movie star Karim AbdelAziz in a new installation of the SoldOutlive interviews series on Friday, 14 July at 8:30pm. The live interview will be held at Ewart Hall at AUC’s Tahrir campus. You can book your ticket from Tazkarti.

Sharmoofers, Shaheen and El Waily x Alexandria: Sharmoofers will share the stage with the rap star Shahyn and the music producer El Waili at Al Ittihad Alex Club, Smoha branch on Thursday, 20 July. Doors will open at 4pm. You can book your tickets through TicketsMall.

Cairokee Empire returns: Cairokee is hitting the stage with two mega-concerts at New Cairo’s Manara Arena on Thursday, 27 July and Saturday, 29 July. Tickets are available on Tazkarti here and here.

Tech geeks, get ready for theRoute Tech Summit: The summit will be held on Friday, 28 July from 9am until 10pm in the Greek campus, offering a chance to meet tech recruiters, apply for jobs and attend workshops. You can register through this link to receive your invitation for the event.

El Podcastersby Bassel Alzaro and Karim Rihan is a refreshing social commentary podcast that offers a 40-minute reprieve from the day-to-day bustle with light, humorous conversations. Throughout the episodes, Alzaro (an actor and tv host) and product manager Rihan have laid back, open conversations with guests that are mostly unscripted. With no definite theme or subject area focus, the show brings on guests ranging from actors Mohamed Mamdouh and Amina Khalil to Jordanian singer Aziz Maraka and Sharmoofers lead singer Ahmed Bahaa, all the way to psychologists Dina Mosaad and Yasmine Mhana.

Where to listen: A new episode is released every Tuesday at 8pm. Full episodes are available on Spotify, Anghami, YouTube.

A story about a woman discovering her identity beyond her career:August Blue by Deborah Levy follows the story of famed classical pianist Elsa Anderson who, after a disastrous performance, embarks on a journey across Europe. The physical journey plays out in parallel with an internal road to discovering her own identity, uncoupled from her musical talent and once-booming career as a piano prodigy. This metaphorical journey is in part illustrated through a doppelganger — whom Anderson comes across in a flea market in Athens at the outset of the book, and who seems to follow the protagonist across the continent. At its core, the novel delves into themes of happiness and self-discovery, leaning on what the Guardian refers to as “a deeply Freudian fable of lost memory and severed selves.”

What the markets are doing on 6 July, 2023

The EGX30 fell 1.6% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.67 bn. Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 17.2% YTD.

In the green: EFG Holding (+2.1%), Qalaa Holdings (+1.7%) and Edita (+1.3%).

In the red: Ibnsina Pharma (-4.0%), Egypt Kuwait Holding (-3.9%) and Elsewedy Electric (-3.5%).

Bird species on the planet are in decline — mostly because of human behavior

Could we soon be living in a world with empty skies and silent springs? Nearly half of the bird species on the planet are in decline. For years, researchers and amateur scientists have been sounding the alarm on the disappearance of large swathes of bird populations worldwide — most of which has been the result of human-led habitat destruction and climate change. Beyond the aesthetic and sentimental gloominess of a world with fewer and less diverse bird species in our skies, shrinking avian populations also pose serious challenges to the healthy functioning of natural ecosystems and our urban lives.

Bird populations have been rapidly plummeting for years now: Since 1970, 29% of bird populations (or some 2.9 bn birds) in North America have been destroyed. In Europe, populations have shrunk by some 19% (or 600 mn birds) and even species that were once abundant — like the common swift, common snipe and rook — are hurtling towards extinction. These declines are most significant in rural areas in Europe, where 57% of bird populations have disappeared. While some species have actually seen their numbers recover in recent years, the broader picture is still dire: About 1 in 8 bird species face extinction worldwide.

Unsurprisingly, human activity is to blame: Modern agriculture and development has meant less natural space is available for birds and other species to safely live and hunt. Development overtaking wetlands — where many species of birds are best suited to thrive — is a significant phenomenon, but is only part of the problem. The use of pesticides in modern agriculture — which makes it more difficult for birds to put on weight ahead of their annual migration — and collisions with communications towers, power lines, and glass buildings are also driving up bird fatalities every year. There’s of course also hunting, which can near instantaneously decimate bird populations, and climate change-driven extreme weather events like more frequent droughts, heatwaves, and floods that undermine their ability to find food.

Here in Egypt, migratory birds are often faced with some of the deadliest challenges: In Egypt, tradition and lax enforcement of environmental regulations has led to the overexploitation of migratory birds and sent populations plummeting over the past decade. Hunters have long set up nets along our Mediterranean coasts to catch tired and weary birds like the Common Quail, House Sparrow, Warbler and Golden Oriole migrating south from Europe. Bird catching was, for most of our history, an activity that was primarily geared towards sustenance, which meant that its impact on global populations remained fairly limited.

From sustenance to industry: In recent years, the sale and export of migratory birds has provided hunters living in coastal areas additional income streams and further incentive to scale up their operations. How handsomely hunters are compensated for the birds they catch varies widely. A pair of quail birds sells for about EGP 70, while rare and more in-demand species like the Peregrine falcon could go for as much as USD 10k.

This is taking place at an increasingly large scale: Previous reports have suggested that nets intended to catch migratory birds line some 700 km of our coastline during the fall and have been estimated to catch at least 140 mn birds a year according to one biologist’s estimate. These figures do not include the many other means of bird hunting in Egypt that utilize rifles, traps and tree nets — which are in many instances violations of our existing environmental regulations.

Without them our food and ecosystems suffer. Birds help control pests, they pollinate flowers, spread seeds and regenerate forests — and natural habitats absent of birds often start to decline. Seabirds help cycle nutrients between land and sea and contribute to the health of our coral reefs. Insectivorous birds eat about 400-500 mn tons of insects every year and help keep their populations from exploding. Without birds, we could see a 46% decline in fruit and seed production worldwide, according to one study.

Expanding conservation efforts is crucial to keeping our bird populations intact: From a global perspective, expanding protected areas, where hunting and development remains prohibited and working on restoring wetlands locations that have become damaged are widely accepted as a crucial first step. Additionally, restricting chemical use in agriculture and redesigning buildings to reduce the likelihood that birds collide with glass windows is also important. Some conservationists also argue that restricting cats -– which often prey on birds — from roaming outdoors could also help.

Many of these solutions have worked before, but they are costly: Between 1993 and 2020 some 48 species of birds and mammals were successfully brought back from the brink of extinction thanks to the efforts of conservationists that have mobilized political campaigns and financial donations necessary to protect vulnerable species. Without some of these efforts — which includes USD bns in spending — extinctions may have been three to four times greater.

Domestic conservation efforts here are limited for exactly this reason: Despite previous efforts by the Environment Ministry and environmental groups in Egypt to protect migratory birds, limited resources, financing restrictions and weak enforcement have muted conservation efforts. Organizations like Nature Conservation Egypt (NCE) and BirdLife international have put out several specific recommendations for how to keep populations from collapsing but hunting in Egypt has been hard to get a good handle over, mainly because of how lucrative hunting is in the absence of alternative sources of income. But still, initiatives like the Environment Ministry’s Migratory Soaring Birds Project persist.

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

JULY

6 July-15 (Thursday-Saturday): Dawayer Cultural Festival, Cinema Radio, Downtown, Cairo.

7 July-9 (Friday-Saturday): What have years done to us?, Rawabet Art Space, Qasr El-Nil, Cairo.

7 July (Friday): Medhat Saleh with the masters, Cairo Opera House, El-Zamalek, Cairo.

10-11 July (Monday-Tuesday): Ici le Soudan, French Institute of Egypt, Mounira, Cairo.

14 July (Friday): Amr Diab Sunset Party, SOL Beach Bar, Marassi, North Coast.

14 July (Friday): SoldOut live interviews, Ewart Hall, The American University in Cairo (AUC), Tahrir.

14 July (Friday):Charlie, Movenpick Media City, Cairo.

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

19 July-23 July (Wednesday-Sunday): Egypt Summer Festival, Heliopolis.

20 July (Thursday): Sharmoofers, Shaheen and El Waily concert, Al-Itthad Alex Club, Somha, Alexandria.

20 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Islamic New Year (TBC).

23 July (Sunday): Revolution Day.

27 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Revolution Day (TBC).

27 July (Thursday): Cairokee mega-concert, Manara Arena, New Cairo.

28 July (Friday): Route Tech Summit 2023, Greek Campus, Tahrir, Cairo.

29 July (Saturday): Cairokee mega-concert, Manara Arena, New Cairo.

AUGUST

2 August-3 August (Wednesday-Thursday): Fintech Revolution Summit at 9:30am at Cairo Festival City.

SEPTEMBER

26 September (Tuesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

28 September (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

OCTOBER

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

13 October- 20 October (Friday-Friday): El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

NOVEMBER

15-24 November (Wednesday-Friday): Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF).

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

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