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Sunday, 25 Jun 2023

What We’re Tracking Tonight
For Your Commute
Enterprise Recommends
Go With The Flow
Inside Industry
The Enterprise Entertainment Calendar

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Today at a glance

1

The Big Story Today

 Egypt, India upgrade ties to become “strategic.”
2

INSIDE INDUSTRY

 Why Egypt’s date production industry is held back from being globally competitive.
3

FOR YOUR COMMUTE

 The new age of crypto.
4

FOR YOUR COMMUTE

 Cities on the mend: Urban living standards are on the rise.
5

ON THE TUBE TONIGHT

 Brush up on your Indiana Jones.
6

Sports

 Al Ahly faces Al Suez for the Egypt Cup + PSA finals tonight.
7

OUT AND ABOUT

 Meet other tech-minds at the Route Tech summit + Heard of Hals?
8

Under the Lamplight

 Penance: A true crime murder mystery novel.

Sunday, 25 Jun 2023

What We’re Tracking Tonight
For Your Commute
Enterprise Recommends
Go With The Flow
Inside Industry
The Enterprise Entertainment Calendar
1

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: Egypt, India upgrade ties to become “strategic”

Good afternoon, wonderful people. This shortened workweek is bringing us a rather calm news cycle — we assume most people are mentally checked out ahead of our extended holiday.

IN CASE YOU NEEDED REMINDING- Public sector employees and banks will be off from Tuesday, 27 June through Monday, 3 July in observance of Eid El Adha and the anniversary of 30 June, while the Manpower Ministry says the private sector will be off from Tuesday, 27 June through Sunday, 2 July.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

El Sisi, Modi want to take our ties to the next level: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed an agreement today to upgrade the two countries’ diplomatic relations to become “strategic,” according to an Ittihadiya statement.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Prigozhin’s turnaround and pardon from Putin continue to lead the conversation in the international press this afternoon. Yvegny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group mercenaries withdrew from an attack on the Russian capital after Prigozhin’s verbal attack on incompetent Russian military leaders who he feels are ruining his soldiers’ efforts in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Preghozin’s mutiny was short-lived as Russian President Vladimir Putin offered him a pardon and safe residence in Belarus. Reuters | Bloomberg | Associated Press | CNBC | BBC | Financial Times

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

enterprise

*** It’s Inside Industry day —your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: We look at the challenges facing the date production industry, and what’s holding us back from being a major exporter despite being the world’s biggest producer of dates.

MISSED THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast to hear what went down: The Enterprise Podcast is back, and with it comes our new Forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at our events.

We’re kickstarting the series with the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum, which took place last May at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza, and where we explored how we can make Egypt an export powerhouse that is a magnet for FDI.

IN TODAY’S EPISODE- We looked at the immediate need for businesses, and the country as a whole, to develop workable strategies on bolstering exports and FDI by looking at examples from around the world that have worked. We were joined on that panel by Yasmine Khamis, chair of the Orientals Group, and Yassir Zouaoui, partner at McKinsey, who flew in from the UAE to attend. The panel was co-moderated by our friend Helmy Ghazi, deputy CEO of HSBC Egypt.

Expect us to drop an episode every Sunday morning. You can listen to the Enterprise Podcast wherever 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.

Journalists looking to explore business, finance and economic stories are welcome. So are recent journalism school graduates.

That said, we're looking for gifted story-tellers from all walks of life and across all professions, as long as they show a keen interest in learning to write about the stories, topics, businesses, and figures moving markets. Egyptian and foreign nationals alike are welcome to apply. So are job-switchers: If you’re an equities analyst tired of the rat race, we’re a great place to come work.

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.

During the program you will learn:

  • The key news stories and trends shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region, across various sectors;
  • Business and finance for non-finance people: Whether it's industry jargon or key concepts or simply how to read a balance sheet;
  • How to construct an Enterprise story: From idea formulation down to the structure, style and tone of writing;
  • How to develop sources that will give you the key insights needed to tell a complete story;
  • How to communicate these stories with the confidence and language of an insider.

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, while also working on and filing 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.

!_Insertline_!

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Temperatures will be on the rise tomorrow with sunny skies and a high of 37°C, dipping to a cooler 24°C in the evening, our favorite weather app tells us.

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2

FOR YOUR COMMUTE

AI bots are crypto’s saving grace + The most livable cities post covid-19

The new age of crypto? Founders and investors are shifting their attention away from crypto and towards AI, as AI continues to take the lead in the tech world, Bloomberg says. This shift, triggered by the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, doesn’t necessarily spell the end of crypto, but could instead see a new age where the two can work hand in hand: “You may actually see a situation where AI is sort of a catalyst to rush back to blockchain,” investment fund Struck Crypto founder Adam Struck told the business information service, pointing to AI bots helping reduce the amount of cyberattacks targeting blockchains, which have so far stolen USD mns. AI bots are also capable of filtering out spam and scam messages on instant messaging platforms, he added.

AI can also benefit from blockchain: Blockchain tech can bring “greater transparency and decentralization” to artificial intelligence, according to CIO of crypto VC firm CoinFund Alex Felix.

Cities on the mend: Urban living standards are on the rise after the disruption brought on by covid-19, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2023 Global Liveability Index (pdf). Findings suggest that — of the 173 cities that the index encompasses — the top three most desirable ones to live in are Vienna (again), Copenhagen, and Melbourne.

Mixed results: While the liveability index has increased to a 15-year high thanks to improvements in education and healthcare in developing nations, unrest in many other areas in the world has had detrimental repercussions on stability scores, the report states. Also, big cities like New York and London are down 10 and 12 spots due to elevated levels of crime and congestion among other factors, according to The Economist.

How is liveability assessed? The index was developed for companies to assess the compensation they need to pay out to relocating employees to places with exceptionally challenging living conditions, significant physical strain, or a noticeably unhealthy atmosphere. To that effect, factors used to assess cities are security, access to healthcare, culture and environment, infrastructure, and education.

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3

ENTERPRISE RECOMMENDS

Brush up on your Indiana Jones

? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Forty-two years after the first installment, the Indiana Jones franchise is coming to an end. Dial of Destiny, the first of the series to not be directed by Steven Spielberg or written by George Lucas, marks the end of the duo’s five-film contract with Paramount Studios, originally signed in 1979. Many have grown up watching Harrison Ford playing Dr. Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones Jr., and even those who haven’t heard of the franchise.

You might feel the need to watch (or rewatch) the first four movies ahead of Dial of Destiny’s release thisWednesday, either to familiarize yourself with the lore or to bask in its glory before saying one last goodbye to Indy. Either way, you can find them all on OSN+. For the newbies, the order goes like this: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989), and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

⚽ Qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics: The Egyptian U-23 football team is kicking off its journey to the Paris Olympics with its first match at the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations against Niger at 8pm today. The Pharaohs are in the second group, which includes Mali, Gabon, and Niger. The teams that end up in the top three slots in the championship will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Over in the Egypt Cup, Al Ahly is hosting Suez in a match postponed from the 32nd matchday at 8:30pm tonight. The reds will defend their title, which they earned last year by defeating Pyramids, whereas Suez has its hopes on a surprise victory, especially after making it to the quarter finals last year.

It’s the last day of the squash PSA World Tour Finals at Sodic’s Eastown District New Cairo. Tonight’s final round will see Nour El Sherbiny taking on Joel King, Ali Farag squaring off against Mohamed El Shorbagy, Nour El Tayeb going head-to-head with Georgina Kennedy, Paul Cole challenging Tarek Momen, Nouran Gohar facing off against Olivia Filcher, and Diego Elias clashing with Victor Crouin, according to a press release(pdf).

? OUT AND ABOUT-
(all times CLT)

Zawya’s two-week festival for Italian director Michelangelo Antonio continues today, as part of its Italian Cinema Focus program in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute. The cinema will screen Antonio’s films through to Tuesday, 27 June.

The annual Flower Exhibition — which is typically held at the Orman Gardens — is still open to the public at the Agricultural Museum in Dokki. The exhibition kicked off last month and wraps next Tuesday, 27 June.

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.

Black Theama will hit the Elsawy Culturewheel stage for a Eid concert this Thursday, 29 June at 8pm. You can book your ticket through the culturewheel’s website.

A night with Aziz Maraka:Maraka is performing a concert at El-Sawy Cultural Wheel on Saturday, 1 July at 8pm, with tickets available here.

Halsnight: Enjoy a musical night, courtesy of a group of artists who are originally friends and got their DJ stripes by taking control of the music at house parties. The concert will be held at Rawabet Art Space on Wednesday, 5 July at 9pm.

Medhat Saleh with the masters:Go on a trip back in time and listen to nostalgic Arabic songs on Friday, 7 July at the grand theater, Cairo Opera House. The concert will start at 8:30 pm. Tickets are available here on Tickets Mall.

? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Penance: A Novelby Eliza Clark is set seven years after the brutal murder of a 16-year-old teenager on the eve of the Brexit vote in the fictional northern sleepy sea-side town of Crow-upon-Sea. Alex Z. Carelli is a journalist who travels to the town to begin to piece together what actually happens, with the story taking the reader along for the investigation as he speaks to the neighbors, family members, friends and acquaintances of the victim. We also read the podcast, articles, emails, chats, forum comments that were exchanged at the time and had a profound impact on the youth. Among other themes, the novel looks into the impact of online radicalization on the youth and the cruelty between adolescents that can have grisly consequences.

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This publication is proudly sponsored by

4

GO WITH THE FLOW

What the markets are doing on 25 June, 2023

The EGX30 fell 2.4% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.70 bn. Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 18.4% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Construction (+4.5%), Telecom Egypt (+2.2%) and Ibnsina Pharma (+0.4%).

In the red: Elsewedy Electric (-5.7%), CIB (-4.5%) and Qalaa Holding (-4.4%).

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Our weekly look at the issues, trends, and policies that are shaping Egypt's manufacturing industries.

Published every Sunday in EnterprisePM.

Read Inside Industry
5

INSIDE INDUSTRY

Egypt’s date production industry faces challenges and seeks to compete

Why Egypt’s date production industry is held back from being globally competitive: Egypt is the largest date producing country in the world, but we export only 3%of total annual production. This gap between our production capacity and output, and the volume of exports we are able to ship to export markets is a result of structural problems within the industry, our sources tell us. These challenges include the absence of standardization of varieties, the absence of a trademark for New Valley dates, the multiplicity of intermediaries in date production, and a dearth of high quality packaging facilities.

By the numbers: Egypt annually produces 1.7 mn tons of dates, accounting for around 18% of global production volumes, according to data from the Food Export Council. Saudi Arabia comes in second, followed by Iran, according to UN FAOfigures (pdf). Egypt exported around USD 50 mn-worth of dates in 2021, the Food Export Council said.

We want to export a whole lot more: Egypt is looking to push our date exports to reach USD 100 mn in the next few years, the export council’s Deputy Director Tameem El Dawy told Enterprise. This would still be a relatively small piece of the global date trade, which is worth some USD 2 bn per year, according to El Dawy.

The government has been pushing to develop the date industry: Presidential directivesto double the number of palm trees in El Wadi El Gedid to 5 mn and introduce new date varieties will support the industry, Emad Bahr, former director of the Dates Complex in El Wadi El Gedid and Undersecretary of the Agriculture Directorate, told Enterprise. The directives were particularly helpful for the production of semidry (Upper Egyptian) dates produced in Dakhla and Kharga oases. Semi-dry dates account for the lion’s share of our exports, with some 60k tons produced annually, Bahr said. The government has also been pushing to support the development of scientific research to grow industries connected to date production, such as palm waste, Bahr said.

There’s lots more that can be done to grow the industry, starting with standardization: The industry currently lacks uniform standards and specifications, which undermines overall production quality and could lead to Egyptian dates being rejected from export markets, Bahr told us. One such issue is the lack of a trademark or branding for semi dry dates, which opens up space for some traders to mix varieties, Bahr said

We could see a breakthrough there: The Academy of Scientific Research, New Valley University, and the FAO reached an agreement to register a geographical indication — a tag that identifies products as having originated from a specific location and have the characteristics of products from said location — and unified label for New Valley dates. This move is designed to improve date varieties in the Kharga Oasis to maximize the potential of the palm date industry, palm waste, and supporting the opening of new export markets for palm products and palm-based industries in the governorate. Any producer or investor who meets standards of the New Valley geographical indication will be allowed to put the label on their products, which will help create a visual identity for the dates in the governorate.

Health standards are also a critical requirement: Although date producers in Egypt generally adhere to all health and environmental requirements in the packaging and drying process, exporting to Europe requires factories with a high degree of development and sophistication, said Mahmoud El Shazly, a major producer of dates.

There’s also a lack of standardization with market pricing: Each ton of dates is priced at USD 1k, with no pricing mechanism in place, Bahr said. Most companies transport dates to packing and packaging factories in northern Egypt, which are some 1k km away from where they’re cultivated and harvested. High transport costs then drive up the final price at which the dates are sold to export markets, he noted.

Industry players are also facing the challenge of high packaging costs, which Bahar and El Shazly see as one of the most important issues facing producers.

A logistical area for the date industry: The Trade and Industry Ministry moved forward last year on establishing a logistical areafor the date industry in El Wadi El Gedid, which includes collection and packaging facilities for dates earmarked for local consumption. The logistical area will also be geared towards exported dates, Minister Ali El Moseley said, and will meet international standards and specifications.

Your top industrial development stories for the week:

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THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

MAY

27 May-27 June (Saturday-Tuesday): Annual Flower Exhibition from 10am at the Agricultural Museum.

JUNE

14-27 June (Wednesday-Tuesday): Zawya’s two-week festival for Italian director Michelangelo Antonio.

21 June (Wednesday): Egyptian soprano Amira Selim performance, National Museum for Egyptian Civilization (NMEC).

20-25 June (Tuesday-Sunday): PSA World Tour Finals, Eastown District New Cairo, Sodic, New Cairo.

22-24 June (Thursday-Saturday): Grün Fête de la Musique at 3pm at Al Azhar Park.

22 June (Thursday): Noha Fekry’s musical concert, El-Sawy Culturewheel, El-Zamalek, Cairo.

22 June (Thursday): Ahmed Amin’s interview on SoldOut Live, El Falaki theater.

23-24 June (Friday-Saturday: Wadi El-Hitan Stargazing trip, El Fayoum.

23 June (Friday): Wegz Live Concert, ZED East, New Cairo.

23 June (Friday): Drum Circle Festival, Gusour Cultural Center, Zamalek, Cairo.

23 June (Friday): Cairo Runners marathon, Le Lac du Caire, Cairo.

23 June (Friday): Ali Qandil standup comedy show, Elsawy Culturewheel, Zamalek, Cairo

23 June (Friday): “In A Lonely Place” film display and discussion, Heliopolis Library, Cairo.

23 June (Friday):Shahira Wel Nas El Khatira concert, Room Art Space and Cafe, Qasr El Nile, Cairo.

24 June (Saturday): Droob Heritage tour, El Khalifa District, Cairo.

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

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

29 June (Saturday): Black Theama’s Eid concert, El-Sawy Culturalwheel, El-Zamalek, Cairo.

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

30 June (Friday): June 30 Revolution Day.

JULY

1 July (Saturday): Aziz Marak’s Concert, El-Sawy Cultural Wheel, El Zamalek, Cairo.

5 July (Wednesday): Hals concert, Rawabet Art Space, Qasr El-Nil, Cairo.

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

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

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

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.

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