Good afternoon folks, and happy last hump day of 2023. As we wrap up the last few days of the year and truly settle into that end-of-year slowdown, getting a newsworthy story is starting to feel akin to pulling teeth.
THE BIG STORY TODAY? It’s really more of what’s going to be a big story tomorrow:
German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd is going to decide tomorrow whether to follow Maersk’s lead and resume Red Sea transit, Reuters reports, citing a company spokesperson. Hapag-Lloyd is one of many companies that decided in the past week to reroute their vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal as Yemen’s armed Houthi group continued to attack vessels crossing the waterway.
REMEMBER- AP Moller-Maersk, the world’s second-largest shipping line, said earlier this week it will resume operations in the Red Sea after the US-led naval coalition promised to patrol the Red Sea.
THE BIG STORY ABROAD
There has never been a better time to buy a Mac: Taking over the international press is Israel’s agreement with Intel Corp for a USD 3.2 bn grantto build a chip plant worth USD 25 bn in Kiryat Gat. The agreement brings the largest ever company investment in Israel and is a monumental move for Intel (who mostly make chips for Windows processors, among others) which is trying to strengthen its global supply chain and reestablish dominance in the chip industry against competitors like Samsung and Nvidia Corp. The company is intending to build more bn-dollar factories in Europe and the US, specifically Magdeburg, Germany, and Ohio. (Bloomberg | Reuters)
COME WORK FOR OUR ADVISORY ARM- 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, but native-level verbal and written English fluency is a must.
WHO YOU ARE- We're looking for gifted storytellers with a minimum of four years of work experience in investor relations, finance, banking, economics, or a related field to develop cutting-edge products and maintain relationships with a portfolio of clients. Candidates should have a bachelor's degree or higher in finance, accounting, economics, business administration, or a related discipline. We're looking for someone whose passion for storytelling is matched with strong analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to interpret and present financial data — with a keen eye for details and accuracy.
INTERESTED IN APPLYING? To apply for the position, drop us a line at jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “Enterprise Advisory” in your subject line. Please send a solid cover letter telling us a bit about who you are and why you’re a good fit for our team. We want to see your CV, but the most important thing is a cover letter that makes us want to pick up the phone and give you a call.
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One step closer to the long-awaited green hydrogen incentives: The House Energy and Environment Committee approved a cabinet-drafted decision putting forward a package of incentives for Egypt’s green hydrogen industry.
⛅ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expectanother cloudy day with some sunny spells starting with a low of 13°C in the early morning and going up to 23°C at midday. The evening will bring in cooler climes at 14°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.
With one Christmas down and one to go, we’re heading into the silly season of New resolutions — when gyms make bank on new membership sales and dating apps book more server resources as many folks fall deep into the winter blues.
It’s time to get back in shape — how long will it take? Hello, Millennials. Join us Gen X folks (and, yes, your nemeses — the Boomers) in the “older adults” end of the pool. If you’re anywhere in your mid-30s on up, you lose fitness at up to twice the rate of a comparably fit 20-something, and it doesn’t get any easier from here on out.
The tl;dr: Save yourself the 700-word slog and just (a) accept that you’re out of shape and (b) that the only way to get to where you want to go is to … get started. Gradually. “When rebuilding your fitness, start by setting a goal of working out for a certain length of time each day, without worrying about your strength or intensity […] Once you can comfortably walk or jog for 30 minutes a day for two or three weeks, you can start increasing your pace to a run. If you want to return to lifting weights at the gym, start with a lower load and then gradually add more.”
FEELING OLD? Don’t worry. Someone will still love you, no matter how wrinkly you get.
The story is all over the dumpster fire that is our social media and seems particularly popular among recently divorced people (men and women alike) of a certain age.
And yeah, it can get a little creepy: “19 Year Gap: Jessica Moss, 42, a creative director, and Kevin Hardesty, 61, a videographer, live in Los Angeles. They met 23 years ago while working at a film-production company — he was an executive, and she was a summer intern. From the first time they spoke, they say, there was electricity between them. Jessica thinks it has to do with a past-life thing.”
Despite a five-month strike that ran through to September, Hollywood studios were still able to create some screenworthy pictures. While we were able to watch some of these silver screen hits, some may have slipped through our fingers.
If your favorite film didn’t make the cut below you can still get a full and broader list of all the best films of 2023on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Variety, and the New York Times.
#1- Oppenheimer (well, duh). Even though many biopics graced our screens this year, this biopic (watch trailer, runtime:3:07) about the “father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer, maintained top dog in the box office and looks like it’s going to be a cult classic. While it did have a moment with the Barbie campaign (remember Barbenheimer?) the film still sparkled when it came out as critics agreed that it is “ visually poetic ” and a “ towering achievement.” We also previously made the case for why you should watch it.
#2- Another contender is Fair Play, a Netflix film described as a “knockout thriller”(watchtrailer, runtime: 2:48). It’s no surprise that the investment banking environment is cut throat. But throw in complications such as having a co-worker romance and you’ll find a film that discusses gender roles and other complications. Not convinced? Sitting in the director’s chair is writer-director Chloe Domont, who directed episodes of Bns and Ballers. Need more convincing? See what we have to add about the film — or go right ahead and watch it on Netflix.
#3- Killers of the Flower Moon (well, duh — again). The Scorcese + De Niro + DiCaprio blend (watch trailer, runtime: 2:23) has delivered a take on a heinous true crime against the Osage Nation tribe in 1920s Oklahoma. The aesthetics, coda, and length of the film tries to do justice to this disturbing historical event. The New York Times and Roger Ebert give quite the review of the film.
#4- If you loved watchingDead Poets Society and reading The Catcher in The Rye, you’ll love The Holdovers. The film (watch trailer, runtime: 2:45) set in 1970s America follows a student who couldn’t go home for Christmas. He ends up living his worst nightmare: Being left in school with the teacher he hates the most and the school cook during the two-week winter break. This isn’t a Dennis the Menace picture — at times the film is raw, vulnerable, emotional, and funny. “Nostalgic feels” surged, revelations were made, and “father-son” bonding sessions ensued with a heartfelt outcome, The Guardian said. The film isn’t showing in theaters in Om El Donia, but we might sit this one out and see it from the comfort of our sofas.
#5- Poor Things is a salute to the “monster original” Frankenstein(watch trailer, runtime:1:23). Rather than collecting body parts to create a monster, Dr Baxter (played by Willem Defoe) collects dead women’s bodies and switches their brains with a newborn’s (yes, our stomachs turned, too). This movie is way past PG where it takes existentialism to another level and sparks a rather interesting discussion about how one sees and experiences the world — with a dash of domestic violence, of course.
From Om El Donia, an honorable mention goes to VoyVoyVoy,a retelling of the 2015 incident where the Egyptian national blind goalball team pretended to be blind to get a chance to immigrate to Europe (watch trailer, runtime: 1:44.) “It was such a perfect vessel to tell this story about illegal immigration, which is a huge problem, the whole social issue of poverty and the lack of opportunity,” director Omar Hilal told Deadline. It’s a shame to see it being axed from nominations at the 2024 Oscars from the list of Best International Feature Film nominees. You can read what we had to say about the film here, and if you’re ready to watch it, it is still playing in theaters until Friday, 29 December.
Related
⚽ With Arsenal out of the way, Liverpool and Aston Villa are gunning for the Premier League title: Liverpool faces off against Burnley for gameweek 19 of the English Premier League tonight at 7:30pm. The Reds are currently in second place, falling just one point behind Arsenal. A victory in tonight’s matchup would bump them up to the lead — at least temporarily.
Manchester United goes up against Aston Villa at 10pm in a matchup that could see the Villans take the lead if Liverpool draws or loses to Burnley tonight.
Other Premier League matches to look out for:
Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest (2:30pm)
Sheffield United vs Luton (5pm)
Bournemouth vs Fulham (5pm)
Join over 200 of our readers competing in the Enterprise Fantasy Premier League by following this link or entering code abd0f7.
In Egypt: Alexandria’s Al Ittihad faces off against Pharco at 7pm in gameweek 10 of the Nile League.
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? OUT AND ABOUT- (all times CLT)
THEATER-
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’d make a good detective, here’s your chance to find out.Tahqiq is carried out by a group of actors staging an unscripted and interactive murder-mystery at Theatro Arkan. It’s up to you to figure out this whodunnit, which you can do tonight from 8pm. Book your tickets here.
Enter the improv world in 2024. Starting Friday, 5 January, Ramsi Lehner will be hosting a ten-class improv workshop to help you improve your public speaking skills, expand your range as an actor or performer, help you develop your standup comedy, or even just make you better at communication. The classes will take place every weekend on Fridays and Saturdays from 6:30pm to 10pm. Register here to claim a spot.
ART-
See the tale of three women through art at the A Tale of an Ethereal City exhibition by Khadiga Abou Hussien in collaboration with Rasha Arous & Sara Kouedi at Bibliothek Art Gallery. The exhibition opened its doors last Saturday and will continue until Tuesday, 2 January from 7-10pm.
Get ready, aspiring photographers: The Fujifilm festival is just over a month away. You’ll have four full days of activities, meetups, and talks, as well as a photography contest and an exhibition that you can partake in. You can bring your camera along to get a gratuitous CMOS and lens cleaning, and check out the GFX 100 ii Studio on site. Fujifilm X-Photographers and creators will be there too — don’t miss out on the networking potential. Check out their Facebook page for more information.
MUSIC-
Warm up your vocal chords, gang. Karaoke Night is back at ROOM Art Space and Cafe. ROOM’s doors are open every Tuesday (including tonight) through to 27 February for you and your friends to belt out your favorite tunes, starting at 8pm and ending at 10pm. You can reserve your spot here.
Get ready for the season with the Cairo Opera House which will be hosting a series of events celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve:
Don’t miss the Nutcracker ballet shows. The performances will be presented by the Cairo Opera Ballet, along with the Cairo Opera Orchestra. The first show will be held this tomorrow and will continue until this Thursday, 28 December. Tickets are available here.
The orchestra will also put on another concert on Sunday, 31 December celebrating New Year’s Eve. Click here to book your ticket.
It’s time to rock.Metal Night is set to rock the house at Cairo Jazz Club 610 this Saturday, featuring Catharsis alongside Crescent and Mythos. Contact CJC610 to reserve a spot.
DoubleDose of Rock at ROOM Art Space is another one for fans of rock. You’ll have to choose between going to this or Metal Night, as they’re both playing this Saturday. Paranoid Eyes will be playing alongside Hues, a Muse tribute band that will also be busting the speakers. Book your ticket to Double Dose here.
SPORTS-
Venturing out into the cold in the dead of winter may seem counterintuitive, but to the adventurers among us, it’s a test of determination. The Sahara Survival School is inviting you to, well, survive a hike up Mount Catherine — the highest peak in Egypt — and Mount Abu Ramil. The hikes will take place over the course of three days. Interested in testing your resilience? You can contact Sahara Survival School on their Facebook page.
You can also pack up and head to St. Catherine this Friday with The Mountaineers Club.The gang has Mount Abbas Basha in their sights, and are planning to start the hike at 8pm. You can spend the next day recovering (or exploring the city) before heading back to Cairo on the 31st, right in time for new years. It’s a good opportunity to get in one last adventure in 2023 — but keep in mind that this trail is only suitable for experienced hikers.
Heads up, football fans. Raz3 El Gomhoor is coming to The Marquee on Friday, 5 January to host a two-and-a-half hour in-depth discussion about the forthcoming football season, player transfers, and general analysis of all of your favorite leagues. Both platinum ticket tiers are sold out, but if you act fast, you can still snag yourself a gold. Reserve your spot here.
The Cairo Half Marathon is taking place in a few months: Mark your calendars for Friday, 1 March and start stretching. Cairo Runners is bringing back a fan favorite, offering the same distances as The TriFactory. Tickets are available until 27 February, giving you ample time to convince seven of your friends to join, which will get a 10% reduction in price when you register.
CHRISTMAS EVENTS-
Get into the Christmas spirit with these festive events all around the capital.
The classic Christmas staple The Nutcracker Ballet will be performed at the Cairo Opera House by the Cairo Opera Ballet Company everyday starting today up until Saturday.
FILM-
Qahrawya will be screening Ahl El Fan, also known as The Art Intelligentsia, on Thursday, 11 January. The experimental folk music short film will be followed by a Q&A with founder of the Warsha Theater Troupe, Hassan El Geretly. While the Arabic film will feature English subtitles, please note that the Q&A session will be conducted in Arabic. You can book your tickets here.
EinsChristmas Bazaar is bringing you some handmade goodies, kicking off this past Friday and continuing until Sunday, 1 January, 2024. The bazaar is being held at the Gallery, in Maadi.
NEW YEARS EVENTS-
Why not travel back in time before we leap into 2024?Maeisha is hosting a New YearDinner Gathering at Patrimoine Du Caire this Thursday starting at 6pm. PatrimoineDu Caire is a classic staple of Egyptian culture. And when we say classic, we mean it in a very physical sense of the word: High ceilings, antique furniture, and located in the heart of Downtown Cairo, this cozy dinner is a chance to step back a century and enjoy connecting with the past.
… or you could simply step back into the joys of childhood. KidZania Cairo is hosting its annual NYE Adults Night on Saturday, 30 December, where you can leave the stresses of adulthood behind and participate in a variety of fun activities, music, and games. The party starts at 6pm, but much like Cinderella, you will have to trudge back to reality at midnight. You can reserve here, checking out the tickets for the 30th at 6pm. Tickets are also available at the door for an extra EGP 50.
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? EARS TO THE GROUND-
Citations Needed is deconstructing propaganda. The self-described intersectionality of media, PR, and power means that hosts Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson take a good, well-rounded approach to current events and happenings that might be flying under the radar.
Delivered like a news brief, this media critique comes in half an hour doses where the facts of the given topic are handled with a thorough play-by-play. The hosts aren’t afraid to let their opinions be known, but rest assured that they will back everything up with varying sources and analysis. It’s impossible to avoid bias, but they do their best not to influence without cause and supporting evidence.
The podcast is a refreshing production in an ever-turbulent media climate. In a recent episode, the pair take a look at “military jargon,” and how damaging it could be. They reveal to us that a lot of times, the media merely parrots the terminology of those in power, such as the Pentagon, and how that can be extremely deceptive. A quite pertinent example would be reporting on Israel’s so called “precision” strikes and the New York Times having to add, “But Civilian Homes Were Hit, Too,” to their headlines or Bloomberg saying, “US Military Footprint in Australia Expands to Counter China,” without acknowledging how the terminology manipulates the narrative to evade actual cause and effect.
Today, unraveling propaganda is necessary: Listeners will benefit from rethinking what they have been told and what they think they know, with the podcast encouraging an environment more conducive to critical thinking and analysis vs what the media feeds us today.
The EGX30 fell 1.0% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 3.2 bn (2.3% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 64.4% YTD.
In the green: Beltone Financial Holding (+5.1%), Abo Qir Fertilizers (+3.4%) and Ezz Steel (+3.3%).
In the red: ADIB (-5.0%), Palm Hills Development (-3.6%) and GB Corp (-3.5%).
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 Ahmad Amin (LinkedIn), founder of CUBE Architects.
My name is Ahmad Amin and I am the founder and brand director of CUBE Architects. I graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering.
When I think about when I started my career, I go back to my childhood and I can see that architecture was always at the back of my mind —maybe not knowingly at first, but I always wanted to create. When you think about the word architecture in the dictionary, it’s a hierarchical creation of modular objects, which is basically what I was doing when I was younger. When I got older, it clicked — I was always very fond of playing with Lego, building blocks, and using plasticine to mold and make things.
Three of my uncles were also largely influential — two are architects and the third a designer. I loved visiting their offices and I was always interested in seeing what they were working on, and with what materials. Luckily, one of them happened to be young enough for me to even help him with his university projects. So, it’s safe to say that I was going to study it and pursue post-graduation. I did some internships during university, and after I graduated. For six years, I worked for the Architecture and Urbanism Group, which was one of the biggest groups for architecture and urban design in Egypt.
Eventually, I felt like I needed to express myself in another way, which inspired me to launch my business. Working in an environment where I wasn’t fully invested in despite learning a lot through experience was one of the reasons why I looked into my own firm. Another was the company’s focus on classic Mediterranean style, which is popular in Egypt. But I studied the modern style and wanted the freedom to experiment with it and that made me eager to try something new and go beyond those limits with my own firm.
When I thought about the concept, I thought of what I like. I like to experiment with modular and linear shapes; I love geometry, I think in geometric terms, and I always preferred shapes to words and letters. I can make a combination of shapes faster than I can structure a sentence, so I wanted to make that a reality. That was the notion behind CUBE. Even the name came from a very simple shape, and what I believe is the oldest geometric shape, to translate all those things.
Entering the market was challenging because as architects, we didn’t know much about opening a business. At the time, what you needed to do to start your own venture was beyond us — we only knew about design. Responsibilities such as how to manage an office, or get clients, etc, were not our strong suit. If I knew at the time what the management side would take, I would’ve asked for more advice or help on that front.
We try to set ourselves apart from the competition and that took, and still takes, a lot of work. Gaining clients was a challenge but we were able to use our small network and referrals from people I used to work with to get a foot in the door. At some point, I found a client whose house I worked on. It was very modern — not even in what is now our signature style — and that same client took a chance on us and let us design their office. We were still experimenting with what we wanted to do at CUBE by then, but tailored design appealed to many, allowing us to find our niche in the market.
I owe my ability to read people to my professors.It’s important to focus on the small gestures and words that mean a lot more than they seem, and to really listen to the problem because at the end of the day we also need to solve a problem and satisfy a need. That combination of listening, perceiving, and reading with our expressive method is what makes it a tailored experience that takes our clients imagination as far as it can go. I think this sums up what we do.
Success is hard to define. After some thought I realized that being referred to from people is the sign of success. Recommending us to others meant that people trusted us to meet their high expectations, which is an indication that we are doing something right.
I have a lot planned for the next five years. As a designer, I have several interests and tastes. In turn, I want CUBE to reflect this — to become a multi-disciplinary design house where we can make products, furniture, and whatever else we set our minds to. I envision a focus on texture and design, but not limited to just architecture and interiors — the goal is to expand beyond that.
Endure and broaden your horizons was our motto during these times of economic instability and challenges. We took this chance to embrace creativity, and use the ideas we may have set aside in closed drawers like starting new projects, or if people can’t do interior design right now, start on the designs and dedicate more time to them, or to even enter competitions. These are all activities we may not have done before because there was no time. So in times like these, it’s important to find the silver lining and to take advantage of design abilities — if you can manage the stress.
The most rewarding part of this business is seeing the idea become reality. The work is basically a small sculpture coming into a full-scale livable creation that can be experienced spatially and physically — an experience which I find really exciting.
The hardest part of the job comes from the design aspect, mainly on the day the project is delivered because you lose your control over what you have created. Before then, you were in command, you were in charge of the product, and people sought your direction. After delivery, you became a guest in something you’ve worked on for so long. I have eventually grown to love it because it means the project has been fulfilled.
Personal life existed in a small circle because we were all pulling all-nighters and working on projects together when we were studying in college. This lifestyle continued on to work life, but later you start to realize that you can set more boundaries and manage these things better for a healthier balance. But, I’ll admit that it’s very difficult when you have your own business to separate your professional and personal life — it’s still a work in progress for me.
I like to spend my free time with creative outlets: It’s important to have hobbies outside of work, so in my free time I like to either sketch, paint, or read. Staying creative, it never stops. The last book I read was the autobiographical On Writing by Stephen King.
If I hadn’t founded CUBE Architects, I would have made painting a bigger part of my day since it is something I am already passionate about — I’ve already started doing that on the side recently.
Advice to my younger self would be to take a business minor.Because, as I said, when we started we only thought about design. We didn’t know that there was much more to it that takes up a lot of your time and that we’d need help and/or hire people to do that. People don’t tell you everything you need to know when seeking out advice, so it would have been useful to have more background myself.
Thinking of my influences, I turn to my first job: My design managers helped me venture into thinking out-of-the-box when it comes to design, which was very important to me. Also, there were two professors that especially helped me do that during university — Dr. Yehia El Zeiny and Dr. El Ghazaly Kesseiba — who taught me Design, and Design and Form Principles. They really helped me unshackle myself from the boundaries of society in design and creativity, and I am indebted to them for that.
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