Reaching escape velocity

Patrick FitzPatrick [P.F]: Ladies and gentlemen, we have a brisk agenda for you today. Our next guest on stage is a longtime friend of Enterprise. Ahmed Abdelaal is one of the most senior Egyptian business leaders in MENA and deeply familiar with the challenges and the opportunities that we face here at home and across the region.

Ahmed leads an institution with a footprint that spans from the UAE to Egypt, India, China, the UK and beyond. I've asked him to join us this morning to help frame the discussion. And it starts off with a point in which — rarely, because we often see very much eye to eye — we don't entirely see eye to eye.

Enterprise, as many of you know, frames regional dynamics in terms of competition. On the one side, we have Egypt and I would argue the UAE. On the other side, Saudi Arabia. Ahmed, on the other hand, says that the three elephants in the room, as he calls them, have a lot more in common than Enterprise gives them credit for. He sees that there's room to cooperate, not just to compete. And I'd like you to break it down for us, man. Let's start there.

Ahmed Abdelaal [A.A]: First, good morning. Well, you know, I don't think of it as a competition, to be honest. I think of it as an ecosystem where the three can complement each other. You look at it, each country brings a completely different and fundamental aspect to the regional play, and working together they can definitely drive the entire region to where it should be over the coming few years.

Egypt has its unique USPs. So Egypt is definitely the core engine for talent. I would think human capital is one of the best and under-utilized assets that Egypt has, and Egypt can become the factory that produces this talent which will be required for many years to come to feed into the new and emerging industries. Whether it's technology, logistics, you name it. Egypt can become the engine to provide that.

Egypt also provides connectivity. I mean, we have learned that since we were kids in school. The location makes a huge difference. Egypt's connectivity to GCC, Europe, and most importantly to South-South, which is the new rising force right now. This connectivity, and to Africa of course, provides Egypt with a unique proposition as far as GCC is concerned, whether the other two counterparts — UAE and Saudi. Let alone the infrastructure, the cultural influence, so many other things that give Egypt this might and a solid play in the equation.

You look at Saudi, they have the deep pockets, financial might, and also the ambitions to become a global industrial hub. When it comes to energy, renewables, they are investing heavily in that regard, and this is a USP that they, I would think, will master over the coming few years.

You look at the UAE with their dedicated investment in technology and AI, global connectivity, and execution capacity, which is super unique. They have a unique ability to come up with innovation as far as policies are concerned and delivering on, or converting strategy into actual outcome. I think this is also a leverage that both countries should utilize. So for example, when they are investing in a mega-project like Ras El Hekma, or when they are investing through private or semi-private sector entity like Emaar, we see their execution capacity and the ability to transform plans into reality on the ground.

So both countries, Saudi and Egypt, should utilize that to their advantage. And I think rather than creating a race for duplicating or doing more of the same in three locations, I think that each country should focus on its unique leverage. And with the three working together, they can drive this region into a completely different place.

P.F: Do you see signs that that's happening, that policymakers are sorting that out? And how much of that is set at the policymaker level? How much of that is those of us in the room, in the private sector?

A.A: Well, I see a lot of that happening. The influx of capital that we are seeing coming from both countries into Egypt, not only in real estate. I know that real estate is the most spoken-about sector.

P.F: 15 billion speaks for itself.

A.A: Yeah. But the two countries are investing heavily as well in other sectors. Egypt, as Dr. Rania [Al Mashat] mentioned, we are focused also on reskilling and upskilling our talent pools so that they are able to entertain the new waves of requirements coming, for example, from UAE when it comes to AI, GenAI, Agentic AI, or technology in general. There are several treaties and agreements being struck. But to be honest, in my mind, it's not only about the policy. It's about the delivery, which is equally important. Because you can have a framework, you can have a policy, but if you're not able to execute with certainty, transparency, and you have clarity of ownership and who needs to do what, frameworks and policy do not work. And we have seen that a lot.

But what we are seeing nowadays, there are clear rules of engagement, particularly when it comes to investments coming from GCC or global investment. Transparency levels have improved significantly. The government in Egypt in particular has introduced new rules and regulations that provide this kind of transparency. For example, dispute resolutions. These are critical asks, and I think that we have — I'm not saying that we are at the optimal stage — but we are getting closer to global standards in that regard.

You know, most investors, whether GCC or global, they are not worried about taking risk. And I know that people talk a lot about taking risks of investment in Egypt. I think investors are not worried about taking risk, investors are in the business of taking risk. They are much [more] worried about uncertainty. And this is what balances the investment equation. But I think Egypt has done a lot in this regard. And I think, at least over the last two-three years, I'm seeing greater alignment. Over the last few months in particular. On the back of the stability that we have seen here and also the geopolitical instability elsewhere — this has brought significant focus on how Egypt can leverage this.

When I'm speaking to investors, whether in GCC or in Asia specifically, there is huge interest in Egypt. I think we need to talk about this much more. And we need to talk also much more about the South corridor. So it's not only GCC, I think we need to expand our reach, expand our interest to this important... particularly through BRICS, if I may say.

P.F: Are you seeing signs across your corridors that that's happening, that Egyptian businesses are looking beyond GCC, or is that still very much in its infancy?

A.A: Very early stage. And I think this presents — BRICS in particular — a fantastic opportunity for Egypt to expand the remit of its reach and investors' interest by actually leveraging GCC. Because if you look at GCC, they are very much embedded in the Asian economy.

P.F: India in particular.

A.A: Absolutely. And you look at the UAE, for example, they have a free trade agreement with India. They are investing left, right, and center. Saudi is building a significant investment portfolio, particularly petrochemicals and industrial. And we are also seeing huge interest from China in Egypt and other Indian investors coming to Egypt to build a manufacturing base. So we can also use this connectivity that GCC have built over [the] years to position Egypt as an extension of this connectivity. Rather than us having to start from scratch promoting ourselves over there, we need to position ourselves as an extension of the GCC corridor. 

Egypt can bring into play the connectivity part. So we are very well positioned here. We can become the springboard for Africa, for Europe, as far as Asia is concerned. We have a skilled workforce. We have a critical mass market. We have infrastructure. We have everything. All the ingredients required to attract Asian investors. But leveraging the relationship that GCC, particularly Saudi and UAE, has with the South-South can accelerate access to these markets.

P.F: If I'm to play devil's advocate on that, Saudi is pouring billions into everything hubs, and they are almost, in my view, monomaniacally focused on the domestic opportunity. The UAE looks outward a lot more. I think Egypt looks outward a lot more. How do we get Saudi into that picture? How do we engage with him?

A.A: As I've mentioned, if I am an investor, I'm driven by return. And trust me on that, it's not anymore the political agenda. When Saudis come to Egypt or Emiratis or GCC in general, or any investor comes to Egypt, they are looking for mutual benefits; it has to be win-win. I expect full transparency. I expect full, clear rules of engagement. I expect no disruption once the agreement is signed. And I think the more that we are able to promote that, the more that we will invite interest from the likes of Saudi and others.

You look at Saudi in particular, it makes sense. I mean, they are going through a new phase, a new era. So a focus on the domestic agenda is a normal play. But we are seeing them also exploring opportunities outside. And if you are able to provide them with solutions that complement their agenda, I'm pretty sure that they will look into it. 

So as I said, Egypt, Saudi, UAE, they don't have to replicate investment strategies, with each one of them doing the same thing on his own turf. They can pick and choose sectors, industries, where each has a competitive edge and start investing in them.

P.F: You're investing hundreds of millions here in building out what you call the Mashreq Global Network, global centers of competence or excellence. And on the other hand, you in the UAE are very far ahead of the curve on your adoption of AI. How do you square the two? Are you concerned that the investment in Egypt in building competence here, in building high-value jobs here, gets eroded by AI? I think this is the first question. I'd like your approach on that one.

A.A: Well, I know that it's often thought of as AI is a displacement factor for humans. I don't think of it as such. I think that AI will become rather an augmenting factor.

So we use AI to allow humans to do more with less. We will need more data engineers, we will need more data scientists, we will need more coders, we will need more UI/UX specialists. Not only for Egypt, for the entire region, globally. This is the most desired commodity right now globally. So having AI, I will allow a coder to work with 3-4 companies…. Rather than just coding 8 hours a day to produce 20 or 30 line codes, I can use AI to do 70% of his work, allowing him to code for 10 companies or 10 projects a day. So I don't think of it as a threat, but more of an enabler to do more, increase efficiency, and in our industry, manage risk, provide better experiences to our clients, and more economical solutions.

P.F: One of the themes that will trickle throughout panels today is AI and how leaders are managing it. How did you build consensus in the bank to get people on board with your first AI projects?

A.A: So I think that culture change was the main challenge, and it took us some time to inflict this change. But once it's done, and ensuring that everyone is buying into what... When they see what's in it for them, people subscribe to it. But if they see it as a threat, it becomes a hurdle.

So, when we start promoting the story... It's about storytelling, correct? That this is there to help you, to make you more efficient, to look better before your manager, before your clients. And we started investing in reskilling and upskilling people. So there will be jobs that will be demised, but at the same time, there will be significantly more jobs being created on the other side. 

And we started recycling people. Believe it or not, we have people who have been doing middle office or even front office as relationship managers who have opted to change careers and move into the digital sphere. And this is where we have created a massive chance for investment to help those people. And these things help a lot. So in my mind, it's a fantastic opportunity for organizations to do more, expand more, because this is the only way that you can do that without increasing your cost.

P.F: You've talked about building consensus around a) storytelling, b) sales. I agree completely. We've also talked, you and I in the past, about privatization. We've talked about how to build consensus that foreign investment isn't an evil. 

How do we sell the Egyptian public that, be it Ras El Hekma, be it a factory, be it a piece of land in the middle of Minya, as Minister El Mashat was speaking earlier... How do we convince the public that this isn't selling Egypt, we're not giving up something, but we're getting something? We're not being bought out, we're building a better future?

A.A: If I'm honest, this is one of the fronts that we need to do a much better job [at], particularly when it comes to storytelling. Very important. 

So explaining the narrative and the context of these investments to the mass public is important. And it has to be a continuous process, not linked to a particular announcement that you ride the hype and all of a sudden it goes to zero. This has to follow a sustainable framework of communication that explains to the critical mass, to the public, that these investments do not compromise on the sovereignty of the country. Or ownership does not mean the transfer of ownership of the assets. It's very important to explain to the people also what's in it for them, what kind of job creation these investments will bring. How it will impact a neighborhood and transform this neighborhood into something that is modern. And how it will impact the economy as a whole, and how it will impact the country as a whole. Also the accelerating factor, the multiplier factor — Dr. Rania said that one creates three. This has to be done continuously. Speaking all the time. And I'm not referring only to the government, because I don't think it's the government's role only to...

P.F: I was going to ask, whose responsibility is it?

A.A: I think it's also the responsibility of the private sector. So leaders in the private sector have to speak about it a lot. Sometimes we think it's only about marketing. No, it's about impact and delivery.

So, for example, someone like Mohamed Alabbar, when he stands before the global media and says, "Come to Egypt, invest in Egypt. This is the best place for investment." Correct? Based on his own experience. Word of mouth is the best marketing. We want to hear more of that.

I know that we often, especially our businessmen, they talk about negativity and hurdles and what have you. But we also need to be more constructive when we are talking about what we are doing as a country. I think we have come a long way. We have to do a lot, but we need to talk about it more often. Positivities. What we are doing to attract investors. And the best approach is to let investors talk about success stories. We often talk about hurdles, issues, but we don't talk a lot about success stories. We need to do more of that. 

P.F: We like to complain.

A.A: Yeah.

P.F: We like to complain. But we don't celebrate the victories enough.

P.F: In two sentences: 2026, is it a pivot point? Or just another milestone on a slower path to progress?

A.A: I think it's a pivot point for the entire region. You know, we have gone through a phase of significant geopolitical turbulence. I'm hoping, fingers crossed, that things are more stable or [will] move into a stability zone over the coming few weeks. If this happens, I think it's going to be transformational for the entire region. 

If we continue seeing influx of capital into Egypt. Doors are in Gaza for significant investments that will present significant spillovers for the entire region, Egypt included. More stability means more investments. And we have this very unique position right now of a wealth of opportunities happening around us in all sectors. 

For Egypt, I think we have the ingredients, the strategy, [and] the ambitions to ride the coming wave. And now with our FX position [being] more stable, perception is solid, stability, might, and with the people that we have, and most importantly the location and the potential, I think next year is going to be transformational for sure.

P.F: So some real optimism.

A.A: Absolutely.

P.F: Ahmed, thank you very much for joining us today.

A.A: Thank you so much.