AI image wins a photography award

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: Zohr gas output slumped in 2022 + Ceasefire in Sudan?

Good afternoon, wonderful people. We’re getting back in the groove of work after a much-needed long weekend — but we can’t help but look forward to the upcoming long(er) weekend.

The EGX will be closed from this Thursday, 20 April through to next Tuesday, 25 April in observance of Eid El Fitr and Sinai Liberation Day, the bourse confirmed in a news bulletin today. The announcement comes after the CBE and the Manpower Ministry last week announced that the private and banking sectors will be taking those same days off.

** SO, WHEN DO WE EAT? We’ll be breaking our fasts at 6:24pm CLT today. You have until 3:53am tomorrow morning to hydrate and grab a bite to eat.

The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum, our latest industry-specific conference, is taking place on Monday, 15 May. The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will give insiders and newcomers alike the chance to talk about how to develop an export-centered business and how their companies can help Egypt build an export-led economy that makes us a magnet for foreign direct investment (FDI).

Why exports & FDI? In the wake of successive floats of EGP, exports and FDI have never been more important to our economy — or our businesses. We’re gathering some of the CEOs, top execs from local companies and multinationals, investors, bankers and finance folks to speak on how businesses can adapt their strategies to be export-oriented and what Egypt as a country can do to draw foreign investment and much-needed FX. Expect it to be heavy on lessons learned in Egypt and other global growth markets — and lots of success stories.You can learn more on our conference website here.

And what better place to discuss moving our goods than Egypt’s original logistics zone — the Nile. That’s why we’re looking forward to holding the event by the river’s vistas at the Four Seasons, Nile Plaza.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? The Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum is taking place with the generous support of our friends, including:

Banking partners: Banque Misr | Al Baraka Bank | Emirates NBD | HSBC

Event partners: Beyti | Concrete | Global Corp | Grant Thornton | Hassan Allam Utilities

WANT TO BECOME A COMMERCIAL PARTNER? Ping a note to Moustafa, our head of commercial, here.

HAVEN’T REQUESTED AN INVITE YET? If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, DFI staff, export executive, investor or banker, please fill out the form here to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Zohr gas output slumps in 2022: Gas output from Eni’s giant Zohr gas field dropped 11% y-o-y to 2.5 bn cfd in 2022, Mees reports. The diminished output from the Italian firm’s flagship field, which is 6% below the output cap set on the field in 2021 and 23% short of the field’s total production capacity, comes on the back of water breakthrough difficulties.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD

#1- Ceasefire in Sudan? The Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire as of this evening, Army General Shams El Din Kabashy told Al Arabiya. The ceasefire comes after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urged calm and several countries in the region, including Egypt, worked to mediate between the two sides.

RSF-associated fighters attacked a convoy of US diplomats in Sudan, Blinken said, although nobody was harmed in the “reckless” incident.

Meanwhile, EgyptAir flights to Khartoum remain suspended: The national carrier hasinformedits customers that the suspension will be effective until further notice due to security instability.

#2- Putin in Ukraine: Russian President Vladmir Putin visited Russian-held territories in Ukraine yesterday. He stopped by the command post for the Russian forces in the Kherson region and the headquarters of the Russian National Guard in the Luhansk area to congratulate the military on Orthodox Easter and gift them with icons. The visit comes amidst Ukraine’s preparation for a new counteroffensive to redeem occupied territories.This marks his second trip, following his visit last month to the Crimea region and the city of Mauripol. (AP | Reuters | Financial Times | Bloomberg | WSJ)

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

Reform before review, IMF tells Egypt: The IMF wants Egypt to make more progress on privatizing state-owned companies and moving to a flexible exchange rate before it goes ahead with the first review of the country’s USD 3 bn assistance package.
French smartphone maker Ace has started producing phones at Sico Egypt’s factory in Assiut, with an initial investment of EGP 150-200 mn in its operations.
The Supreme Investment Council has been established: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has issued a presidential decree to set up the Supreme Investment Council.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re going to get a bit of a reprieve from this heat tomorrow, with the mercury set to dip to a daytime high of 35°C before cooling down to 18°C in the evening.

A German artist earned a prestigious photography award — for an AI image + The ancient calendars that still organize our lives today

An AI-generated image won a prestigious photography competition: German artist Boris Eldagsen declined to accept the Sony world photography awards for his creative open category submission which he created using artificial intelligence, the Guardian reports. Eldagsen stated on his website he “applied as a cheeky monkey” and explained that his controversial move was an attempt to propel debates about artificial intelligence forward. One question he hoped to answer is whether “the umbrella of photography [is] large enough to invite AI images to enter — or would this be a mistake?”

No one seemed to notice…: Eldagsen sparked further controversy when he pointed to the fact that most people who viewed his image, titled “The Electrician,” did not realize it is AI-generated. The photograph, if we may call it so, is a compelling black and white image of two women. A closer examination, however, reveals that their fingers look quite distorted — a detail that appeared to go unnoticed. Eldagsen titled the series Pseudomnesia: A nod to the artificial nature of the photo, as pseudomnesia means fake memory.

…Which made things a little awkward: The World Photography Organization, which organizes the awards, issued a statement saying that Eldagsen has engaged in “deliberate attempts at misleading [the organization] therefore invalidating the warranties he provided” and putting an end to constructive dialogue, the Guardian reported. The organization, however, will continue to examine the impact of AI on the medium of photography.

Meanwhile, in the music industry: Streaming platforms removed “Heart on My Sleeve” — a song appearing to be performed by Drake and the Weeknd for “infringing content created with generative AI,” The Guardian reported separately. The hit — which went viral over the weekend with mns of views on Tiktok, Spotify, and Youtube — was generated with artificial intelligence using the artists’ vocals. Universal Music Group (UMG) spoke out against the falsification of art and stated there are two sides to this battle: “The side of artists, fans and human creative expression, [and] the side of deep fakes, fraud and denying artists their due compensation,” UMG told Billboard Magazine. This is not the first time AI has raised concerns over copyrights in the artistic world and looks like it’s just the beginning of unprecedented change.

The numerous ways we organize time: Ancient calendars still play a part in how we navigate the world today, according to a BBC reel released yesterday. From the lunar month to solar year, different civilizations and cultures across the world organize their years and months, differently. One such calendar dates back to 10k years ago and was discovered through pits dug in Scotland to emulate and mark the lunar cycle. The Mayas even used Venus as a reference to navigate through time.

Calendars have several purposes from better agricultural practices to administrative tasks and religious feasts. Although colonization has contributed to the enforcement of a universal dating system — the Gregorian calendar named after 16th Century Pope Gregory XIII — it is not the world’s only one. For instance, we may currently be in 2023, but we are also in 1444 according to Muslims’ hijri year. The Chinese new year is also another case in point of people using more than one system to move through the world.

Black Sea: 12 mariners in a Soviet submarine 60 meters below water

📺 ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Cold and murky waters engulf claustrophobia-inducing submarine thriller, Black Sea:Down and out submarine captain, Robinson, is quick to accept a job from a shady backer to search the depths of the Black Sea, where there lies an old army sub filled with gold. But put 12 brow-beaten Scottish and Russian mariners in a rusty Soviet sub 60m underwater and it’s not long before mania, power struggles and disillusion ripple throughout the crew. The value a strung-out man places on his own survival as greed takes a hold of him drives this nail-biting film. There’s definitely no honor among thieves in Black Sea, which you can rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

⚽ Return of the champions: Real Madrid will be hosted by Chelsea in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League at 9pm today, after the first leg ended with Real Madrid walking away with a 2-0 victory. At the same time, Napoli’s face-off against Milan kicks off, with the odds of advancing currently in Milan’s favor, after it came out on top in the first leg with a clean sheet.

Over in the Egyptian League:

Pyramids v El Dakhlia (9:15pm)
Enppi v Aswan (9:15pm)

Zamalek can’t seem to catch a break: Club President Mortada Mansour has been ordered to step down from his position following a ruling from a local administrative court, Reuters reported. Mansour spent a month behind bars earlier this year over charges of defamation against Al Ahly President Mahmoud El Khatib.

The club just welcomed new management: Zamalek FC just welcomed Juan Carlos to lead it, shortly after it let go of its entire coaching staff following a 3-2 defeat against Al Masry earlier this month.

The Iliad of the Arabs: El Warsha Theater Troupe will perform, through storytelling and singing, the Epic of Beni Helal, which recounts the story of a Bedouin tribe as it migrates from the Arab peninsula westwards across the Sahara Desert to escape drought. The show is taking place tomorrow at 8:30pm at Tahrir Cultural Center.

Expose yourself to some art and culture and walk around central Cairo: Qahrawya are organizing two separate “iftour” (iftar tour) events this month, which entail an art walking tour after sitting down for iftar together. The second tour is taking place in downtown Cairo this Saturday, 22 April, starting at 5:30pm.

Chess players, gather round for game night:That Really Cool Studio has been hosting chess nights in Zamalek every week and will host the last one this Thursday, 20 April. The fun is scheduled to begin at 9pm and end around midnight.

Dive into Egypt’s infinitely rich contemporary art world: The “Traces of Egypt” Exhibition began in late March and will continue until Thursday, 15 June, at the Grand Egyptian Museum. The exhibit is organized by Egyptian-German artist Susan Hefuna and celebrates the country’s Khayamiya tradition through 28 dresses celebrating local artisans and their craftsmanship.

Back to the Cairo Opera House: Egypt’s iconic Omar Khairat will be performing on Wednesday, 10 and Thursday 11 May, starting 8pm. The concerts are expected to run through until 11pm at the historical venue’s Main Hall.

Yellowface, RF Kuang’s latest novel, is a social satire complete with humor and outrage. The author takes us through questions of race, entitlement, appropriation, and morality through the story of Athena Liu and June Hayward — two authors at very different points in their writing careers. When a horrific accident claims Athena’s life, her less accomplished fellow Yale graduate steals her manuscript and claims it as her own: A story about — quite ironically — the erasure of Chinese laborers during World War I by French and British troops. The only hiccup? June is not Asian, but that’s a small detail editors are willing to adjust through a few “cosmetic” changes, including rebranding June as Juniper Song to ultimately propel her to the New York Times bestseller list.

What the markets are doing on 18 April, 2023

The EGX30 fell 0.8% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.95 bn. Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 20.1% YTD.

In the green: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (+10.0%), Credit Agricole Egypt (+6.7%) and Abu Qir Fertilizers (+6.2%).

In the red: CIB (-6.7%), Telecom Egypt (-3.8%) and Ibnsina Pharma (-1.7%).

Meet our founder of the week: Salma Osman, founder of Salma Osman Bridal

OUR FOUNDER OF THE WEEK- Every Tuesday, Founder of the Week looks at how a successful member of Egypt’s startup community got their big break, asks about their experiences running a business, and gets their advice for budding entrepreneurs. Speaking to us this week is Salma Osman, founder of Salma Osman Bridal.

My name is Salma Osman and I founded my dress-making business Salma Osman Bridal five years ago. I had wanted to do something that I genuinely enjoy and am passionate about and that’s how the business came to life. We started with designing and producing evening wear, before pivoting to wedding gowns. My mom, who had always been into fashion, also joined the company.

Starting my own business right after graduating from university made it very hard to balance my personal life with my work. Long hours, disappointments, failed attempts, building the team — those were all things I had to struggle with.

But the biggest challenge I faced was finding talent that was up to global standards. We had to train a lot of people to be able to reach haute couture standards due to the lack of skill in the industry in Egypt. So, building the team was extremely challenging and took a few years.

The best part of my job is the feeling of working with a girl on the most important dress of her life. Seeing the reactions of her mum and herself is the most emotional and most rewarding part of the journey.

The worst part is having to put a cheerful face on all the time. You have to put your mood aside and put your happy face on. It’s not just a desk job where you’re mostly working with a computer — it’s a social job and it’s super fun, but sometimes I need a break. Additionally, I really like my own space. I’m not big on going out and attending events. So, as much as I love what I do, it does become draining sometimes, especially on my hard days.

The job allows me to do things on my own time. We take a limited number of clients every month, which makes me able to only take morning appointments and therefore, it’s not negatively affecting me.

My advice to those who want to start their own business is to be persistent. Have the goal in mind that is focused and specific, and that entails something that you’re good at. Pick something where you feel like you have an edge and talent.

The most important KPI I look at is our customer base and its specifics. The geography and range of our clients is important. I also look at how fast we get each dress right.

I usually turn to my mum or my husband when I need advice on something, depending on the problem. My family is very supportive and encouraging. They’re proud of me and all give me advice all the time.

I don’t think being the founder of a startup has to be a lonely journey. If you’re surrounded by your support system and have people that cheer you on and pick you up when things are bad, it is not lonely at all.

So far, Salma Osman Bridal is bootstrapped and raising investment is not on the horizon for us. However, if we do brach out internationally, I would consider raising VC investment.

One of the startups out there that I think is killing it is Breadfast. I use it myself every day — it makes things easy and convenient.

If I wasn’t doing Salma Osman Bridal, I would probably start a business that would help make life more convenient for moms. In my freetime, I spend time with my family and three kids. Everyone is so busy and always on the go, so I would do something along the lines of ready-made meals or a supermarket that sells ready-made meals.

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

APRIL

20-25 April (Thursday-Tuesday): National holiday in observance of Eid El Fitr and Sinai Liberation Day.

21-26 April (Friday-Wednesday): LaLiga Egypt Football Camp, Xanadu Hotel, Makadi Bay, Hurghada.

22 April (Saturday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

22 April (Saturday): Iftour iftar and Downtown tour 5:30pm, Downtown Cairo.

25 April (Tuesday): Sinai Liberation Day.

MAY

1 May (Monday): Labor Day.

1 May (Monday): Backstreet Boys at 7pm, ZED East, New Cairo.

4 May (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Labor Day (TBC).

6-20 May (Saturday-Saturday): Film Society Festival for Egyptian Cinema.

12-15 May (Friday-Monday): Egypt Fashion Week.

JUNE

10 June (Saturday): Thanaweya Amma examinations begin.

28 June-2 July (Wednesday-Sunday): Eid El Adha (TBC).

30 June (Friday): June 30 Revolution Day.

JULY

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

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.

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): The sixth edition of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

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