Princess Diana is still a fashion icon

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: Gov’t to sign agreement under state ownership policy tomorrow

Good afternoon friends, and happy hump day. It’s shaping up to be a relatively busy news day with which to punctuate the week, with promises of updates on the state privatization program.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

We’re going to see some movement on the privatization front tomorrow: The government will sign an unspecified agreement with an unspecified private sector player as part of the state ownership policy tomorrow, according to a Cabinet statement seen by Enterprise.

We’ll know more tomorrow: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly will announce during a presser the details of the agreement, as well as the government’s plans for state asset sales in the coming period, the statement reads. A revised version of the policy plan leaked to the press in August indicated the government is looking to reel in USD 5 bn in investment through the sale of state-owned companies and assets to private sector investors through to June 2024.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Picking up where we left off this morning, the situation in the Red Sea continues to steer the conversation in the international press this afternoon, after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced yesterday the assembly of a multinational naval operation to protect the seaway following Houthi missile and drone assaults on passing vessels. (Reuters | Bloomberg)

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

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has been elected to a third term in office with 89.6% of all ballots cast, National Election Authority (NEA) head Hazem Badawy said at a press conference yesterday.
OCI announces second USD 3.6 bn sale in as many weeks: Nassef Sawiris-owned chemicals producer OCI Global has inked a binding agreement to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary Iowa Fertilizer Company (IFCo) to Koch Ag & Energy Solutions for USD 3.6 bn.
Oil giants steering clear of the Red Sea:A number of oil players have paused Red Sea transits following intensified Houthi attacks on vessels passing through the waterway.

HELP GAZA-

Want to support relief efforts in Gaza, but don’t know how? We’ve got you. More than 1 mn people in Gaza have been thrown from their homes and every human being there lacks access to food, water, and fuel amid the most intense bombardment any population has endured this century.

The folks at Talabat are processing donations for a range of Gaza relief appeals by charities including the Egyptian Food Bank and Misr El Kheir. Pay in EGP using your credit card.

Or check out our list of charities to which you can make direct donations via bank deposit and / or Fawry.

⛅ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Look for a partly cloudy, partly sunny day with a high of 20°C during the day and a low of 13°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.

Princess Di’s iconic 80’s dress sold for USD 1.15mn. Apple may have to recall its latest line of smartwatches due to a patent dispute.

Princess Diana’s black and blue ballerina-esque 1985dress was sold at an auction for 11x the listing price, selling for a whopping USD 1.15 mn after being listed for USD 100-200k, Julien’s Auctions said.

It’s a record, just not the record:The sale broke the record for the most expensive dress sold at an auction from Princess Diana’s wardrobe, Reuters reports, confirming that the People’s Princess continues to be seen as a timeless style icon, a fashion critic tells the New York Times. However, Marilyn Monroe still holds the chart for the most expensive dress sold in 2016. The dress she wore for JFK’s birthday on 19 May 1962 was sold for USD 4.8mn, and in 2011 her Seven Year Itch dress was sold for USD 4.6 mn.

DIana’s dress was designed by British-Moroccan fashion designer Jacques Azagury. The late Princess of Wales was seen wearing it during King Charles’ (then-Prince of Wales) speech in Florence 1985 (runtime: 2:05) and a year later in her visit to the Expo 86 in Vancouver during her royal tour of Canada (runtime: 2:49).

Lots more sold at the auction: The dress was sold along with an illustration of the gown piece at the Hollywood Legends auction by Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies in Los Angeles. Also sold at the auction was Diana’s pink chiffon blouse with a bow at the collar — which she wore for her 1981 engagement portrait with Charles — with a closing price of USD 380k. The blouse was designed by the Welsh David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the same designers who designed her wedding dress, and was originally listed for USD 80-100k.

Apple could be compelled to stop the US sale of the Ultra 2and Series 9smartwatches over a patent dispute, Bloomberg reports. In an unprecedented dispute in Apple history, the International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a ruling last October stating that the tech-juggernaut had infringed patents of a global medical technology company Masimo. This will force the company to stop offering these watches on its websites starting Thursday, 21 December, and from its 270 retail outlets by Sunday, 24 December. But it can still sell them through third-party retailers, such as the US’ Walmart and Target.

Where is this all coming from? The watch’s oxygen level detection hardware, which uses light reflected on human skin to detect oxygen levels, has been deemed an infringement of Masimo’s patent on the technology.

Apple is working around the clock to find a solution by augmenting the software — but that isn’t quite enough: The company’s engineers are racing against time to modify the algorithms used by the device to measure the user’s blood oxygen level, mainly focusing on refining how the technology calculates the oxygen saturation and presents the corresponding data to the customers. However, Masimo argues that its patent is for the hardware, leading Apple to seek another way for the watches to get the levels of oxygen saturation to the user.

Other ideas? Apple strategized working around the block by not displaying images of the two contested watches and boosting the SE version instead in its Apple stores. Otherwise, the White House could step in to overturn a court ruling.

The watch has been a crucial income-generating wearable product for Apple. This product alone brought in USD 17 bn in FY 2023, according to analysts’ estimates. The Series 9 and Ultra 2 account for the large majority of Apple Watch sales.

The blood-oxygen feature was first introduced to the Apple watch in 2020 through the Series 6 model, coinciding with the covid-19 pandemic. The company is planning to implement two noteworthy health features for its next watch in the year 2024.

Reptile will appeal to True Detective fans

? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Reptile, a film that should have been a show: Directed by Grant Singer, starring Benicio Del Toro, Alicia Silverstone, and Justin Timberlake is a captivating watch if you’re into the True Detective series, where everything feels just a little eerie and unsettling.

Del Toro plays a hardened detective investigating a murder.Timberlake’s character, a shady real estate agent who goes by Will Grady, is part of Tom Nichols’ (Benecio Del Toro) investigation into the murder of Summer, one of Grady’s co-workers. Singer succeeds at creating suspense — showing that everyone is probably a suspect, but this was a bit of a buzzkill, as we felt it overshadowed the actors’ performances.

Standout performance: Playing Tom’s wife, Judy, Alicia Silverstone’s performance stood out in comparison to the rest of the ensemble cast. Other supporting actors, such as Timberlake, Lombardozzi, and Bogosian, barely make an impact on the plot.

Again, Reptile would have been a great series. If it were the start of a brooding television procedural, the narrative flaws could be forgiven, in anticipation of more of Del Toro’s compelling performance. However, in its current state, the film falls short in delivering a cohesive and engaging story.

WHERE TO WATCH- You can find this movie on Netflix.

⚽The Citizens hit the Kingdom: Manchester City will be playing Japan’s Urawa in the semi-final of the Club World Cup at 8pm tonight. This meet marks the English team’s first appearance in this competition. The victor will be playing against the Brazilian Fluminense that kicked out Al Ahly in a 2-0 match last night. Al Ahly isn’t out of the game yet, though, as they await the runner up of tonight’s match to play for third and fourth place.

Chelsea vs Newcastle in the EFL Cup: The quarter-final round of the Carabao Cup kicks off tonight with three matches, the most important of which is the Chelsea vs Newcastle match at 10pm. Fulham will be hosted by Everton at 9:45pm, which is also when Port Vale plays Middlesbrough.

The other European championships are still going strong:

Atletico Madrid vs Getafe (LaLiga, 10:30pm)
Borussia Dortmund vs Mainz (Bundesliga, 9:30pm)

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. Keep in mind that the entry fee is accompanied by an EGP 50 minimum order per person.

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:

The Cairo Symphony Orchestra will host a Christmas concert on Saturday, 23 December at 8pm. You can book your ticket from here.
For Disney fans: The Disney Classics concert will be held at the Opera’s Main Hall on Monday, 25 December. The concert will start at 8pm. Tickets are available here.
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 on Tuesday, 26 December, and will continue until Thursday, 30 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.

CHRISTMAS EVENTS-

Get into the Christmas spirit with these festive events all around the capital.

Want to sit back and enjoy some Christmasy tunes? Arkan Plaza has you covered. Their Christmas Show, put together by Gaby Bishara, will bring you the smooth sounds of Louis Armstrong and Ol’ Blue Eyes himself in a blend of your favorite jazz tunes and classic Christmas tracks. Clear your schedule on Friday, 22 December to head on over.

Kazoku is hosting a Christmas Dinner on Monday, 25 December, in celebration of this festive season. Head on over at 9pm and enjoy the great food we’ve come to expect. Mira Cassisseya will be performing throughout the evening. Interested? You can find more information in the link provided above.

Looking for something a bit more intimate? Villa Belle Époque cordially invites you to dinner on Christmas Eve Sunday, 24 December. Live entertainment and a five course dinner… What more could you ask Santa for? Don’t forget to reserve ahead of time.

The classic Christmas staple The Nutcracker Ballet will be performed at the Cairo Opera House by the Cairo Opera Ballet Company everyday starting 26 December up until the 30th.

FILM-

Zawya cinema will be screening five movies for the late director Ali Badrakhan until next Tuesday, 26 December. You can check out the schedule here.

Eins Christmas 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.

THEATER-

Art and friendship clash in Fann by Kenoma Theater at Rawabet Art Space. Their most recent production is an Egyptian adaptation and production of renowned playwright Yasmine Reza’s Art. The play will have only three performances starting this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. You can buy 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 10:00pm. Register here to claim a spot.

EVENTS-

ThatReallyCoolStudio is shining the light on Palestine, the occupation, and how we got here.Today and tomorrow, the studio will be hosting a series of talks, an exhibition, an art auction, and a video library — plus food — for those interested in learning more about Palestine. All the proceeds from this event will be donated to Gaza humanitarian relief.

SPORTS-

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.

You’ve listened to how to succeed podcasts, now here’s How To Fail. Although the title is about failure, the podcast is actually also focused on success — just by starting off with what gets in the way of it — by arguing that the fixation with perfection is what is holding us back. Instead, the key to moving forward is actually allowing yourself to fall back.

Admitting to failure has become a touchy matter to discuss, which is why host Elizabeth Day created this podcast to showcase her own experiences with failure and how she came to realize that it isn’t something to be ashamed of, but rather, it is an essential step towards achieving success.

It’s a feel-good podcast with refreshingly honest and vulnerable stories from the guests. Guests like Nigel Morris, managing partner of QED Investors and co-founder of Capital One Financial Services, Bernie Sanders, US politician and senator, and Yusra Mardini, former Olympic swimmer feature in some episodes.

WHERE TO LISTEN- You can listen to How To Fail on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean and Google Podcast.

Meet our Founder of the Week: Eduhive founder Karim Mostafa

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 Karim Mostafa (LinkedIn), founder and CEO of Eduhive.

My name is Karim Mostafa and I’m the CEO and founder of Eduhive, a leading education management company. I graduated from AUC in 2003 with a Mass Communications degree and a marketing concentration. I also minored in Theater which was a great experience — a bit bohemian but rewarding.

I’d say I started my career during the last two summers of my undergrad when I interned at Al Ahram Beverages Company (ABC) and was lucky to receive an offer as soon as I graduated to be the assistant brand manager for Fayrouz. I stayed there for three years, reaching the role of brand manager.

I launched Eduhive because I always knew that I wanted to start a family business and not work for anyone. Knowing that, education made a lot of sense for us because it’s an essential service — like food and healthcare, education is a defensive sector. Egyptians love educating their kids so it made sense from an investment perspective too. At the time, the food and beverage industry was not as big as it is now, so we ventured into this sector starting with the BCCIS brand in 2003, and then opened our first school in 2005.

To figure out how to enter the market, I worked with mentors already well-versed in the education field. I sought out experienced K-12 operators with whom we were previously acquainted, and l were generous enough to share a lot of information that helped me get a proper start.

Eduhive stands apart from the competition because it’s an asset light education management company that offers full turnkey solutions to investors wanting to enter the education field. Whether it’s competitive analysis, campus design, awarding contractors, accreditation bodies, local governmental approvals, admissions and marketing, establishing a school and managing it, or healthy ROIs, we provide it all. Also, we have our own brands but we can manage other pre-existing brands, and/or create new ones.

Growing up, I was always outnumbered, always outgunned, but that’s what motivated me and now I am always hungry to grow and over achieve. Of course, money has always been a motivator, but it has never been “the” motivator. Instead, achieving and delivering on my promises is in my DNA and thus translated into my company’s motto.

There are a ton of indicators of success. It could be when your plans work or when returns are achieved, but the most rewarding thing in my field is the impact. When I bump into a student who graduated years ago, has completed university, and now has a job, and they come over to say hello and thank me for the education they received, that is when I know I am successful.

In the next five years, I hope Eduhive will grow to manage more K-12 schools across more governorates in Egypt and branch out to K-12 schools located outside of Egypt. I also would like to pursue university/college education management next.

With the recent economic challenges we have been facing, it has been very challenging and very stressful. But, we know this turbulence is a temporary period that will pass and we have developed strong maneuverability strategies that we stick to during these times.

That being said, there are things I would change about the industry. First, the regulation needs a lot of work. The education business could be doing much, much better and attracting more FDI if regulations become more “investor friendly.” We could also benefit from more collaborative work with the government in the PPP pipeline to hopefully overpass the unaffordable land prices set for education projects.

The hardest part of this job is that we are dealing with the most precious asset there is — your kids. This means that we take on a lot of responsibility, almost like a second parent. We move students, teach them, feed them, help build their character — essentially mirroring what parents do at home.

Amidst the chaos, it’s important to balance home and work life. I try to be a very present father and husband. I attend my kids' school events, take them to practices (as often as possible) and dedicate weekends to my family. Work never ends but I have established an organized routine with an 8 am workout, 10 am start at the office where I work until 6 pm, and then comes family time.

If I hadn’t gotten involved in education, I would like to think that I would be a beach bartender in another lifetime, but for this reality, I would like to work in farming and exporting fruits and vegetables.

If I could provide some guidance to my younger self, I’d say take it easy and step by step. Risks are important but they can turn ugly. Be careful because you will encounter a dark side of the business that no one ever tells you about, and it is up to you to find out.

My advice to new entrepreneurs is to just get it done. It sounds simple, I know, but it actually isn’t. When you work, do the job as briefed, do it on time, do it on budget — most people fail to do so. Finally, don’t over promise.

When I manage to get some freetime, I box, I fish, and I travel. These three habits are very important to my mental stability and balance.

It can be hard to navigate personal, social, and professional life, and maintain the integrity of each, but my DNA is what you see is what you get. I have the same personality and attitude across all aspects of life. My attitude has rarely changed since I was a little kid, which sometimes is a minus, but most of the time it is a plus.

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

DECEMBER

10-26 December (Sunday-Tuesday): Ali Badrakhan’s cinema, Zawya Cinema, Downtown.

14-21 December (Thursday-Thursday): Gouna Film Festival (GFF), Gouna.

19-20 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): How Did We Get Here: Conversations about Palestine at ThatReallyCoolStudio.

21 December (Thursday): Art staged performance by Yasmina Riza at Rawabet Art Space.

21-23 December (Thursday-Saturday): Family Fun Fest by Kult Creative at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.

22 December (Friday): The Christmas Show by Gaby Bishara at Theatro Arkan.

22 December (Friday): Tamer Ashour Live Concert at Dandy Mall.

22 December (Friday): The High Five Stand Up Comedy Show at The Marquee, CFC.

22-23 December (Friday-Saturday): The Garden Market, Christmas Edition at Merryland Park.

22-23 December (Friday-Saturday): LA Winter Vibes Market at the Egyptian International Exhibition Center.

23 December (Saturday): Pyramids Half Marathon by The TriFactory.

23 December (Saturday): The Cairo Symphony Orchestra’s concert, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek.

24 December (Sunday): Christmas Eve at Villa Belle Époque.

25 December (Monday): Disney Classics concert, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek.

25 December (Monday): Christmas Dinner at Kazoku.

26-30 December (Tuesday-Saturday): NutCracker shows, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek.

31 December (Sunday): The Cairo Symphony Orchestra New Year’s Eve concert, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Q1 2024: Opening of the newly developed Pyramids Plateau in Giza.

2024

JANUARY

5 January-2 February (Friday-Friday): Intro to Improv with Ramsi Lehner.

7 January (Sunday): Coptic Christmas.

25 January (Thursday): Revolution Day.

26 January-6 February (Friday-Tuesday): Cairo International Book Fair.

MARCH

1 March (Friday): Cairo Half Marathon by Cairo Runners.

11-12 March (Monday-Tuesday): Creative Industry Summit.

APRIL

9 April (Tuesday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

25 April (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day (TBC).

MAY

1 May (Wednesday): National holiday in observance of Labor Day (TBC).

5 May (Sunday): Coptic Easter.

6 May (Monday): Sham El Nessim (TBC).

JUNE

15-19 June (Saturday-Wednesday): Eid El Adha (TBC).

30 June (Sunday): June 30 Revolution Day (TBC).

JULY

7 July (Sunday): National holiday in observance of Islamic New Year (TBC).

23 July (Tuesday): Revolution Day (TBC).

SEPTEMBER

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

OCTOBER

6 October (Sunday): Armed Forces Day.

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