Good afternoon, friends, and happy almost-THURSDAY. It may be a shortened workweek, but the slide towards the weekend is always a welcome development.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Private sector contraction softens in June: The contraction in Egypt’s non-oilprivate sector slowed to its softest pace in almost two years on the back of easing inflation pressures, according to S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (pdf). The country’s PMI rose for the third consecutive month, reaching 49.1 in June, up from 47.8 in May. This is the highest reading since August 2021 but remains below the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction, making June the 31st consecutive month that business activity has been in decline.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The aftermath of the Jenin refugee camp raid continues to lead the conversation in the international press this afternoon, with the death toll standing at 12 Palestinians and one Israeli. BBC and the Associated Press have more.

Israeli fighter jet strikes on targets in Gaza earlier today have also made headlines in the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal after the Palestinian counter-offensive measures that cordoned Gaza and sent five rockets to Israel. The IDF indicated that they aimed their attack at a weapons manufacturing facility and reported no casualties.

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

• Egypt, Turkey reappoint ambassadors: Egypt and Turkey yesterday restored diplomatic ties and announced the appointment of ambassadors for the first time in 10 years, marking a significant thawing of tensions triggered by the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
• Oil majors are investing USD 1.8 bn in gas exploration here: Multinational energy firms Eni, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP will spend a combined USD 1.8 bn to drill 35 gas exploration wells in the Mediterranean and Nile Delta over the next two years.
• Disability protection fund gets go ahead from House committee: The House Social Solidarity Committee yesterday greenlit a draft decision setting up an EGP 1 bn fund to support people with disabilities.

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

Day one is our Banking Forum, where we’ll dive deep into topics of interest to commercial and investment bankers, from an outlook on the 12 months to come in M&A, IPO, and debt capital markets to the national, regional, and global trends that are (re)shaping our industry.

Day two is all about Fintech and Non-Banking Financial Services. We’ll take a deep dive into everything from the magic of client acquisition to the prospects of consolidation and the coming of challenger banks.

** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

STAY TUNED for more detail about our agenda.

DID YOU MISS THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast and listen for yourself: The Enterprise Podcast is back with another installment of our forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum,which took place in May.

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- We looked at how Egyptian companies can identify and pitch foreign partners and how they can identify them. We asked how do companies figure out what they’re looking for — and whether that dovetails with what they want or need. We were joined on that panel by Hossam Abou Moussa, partner at PE firm Apis, Cheick-Oumar Sylla, director for North Africa and Horn of Africa at the International Finance Corporation, and Hassan Massoud, associate director and head of private equity (Southern Mediterranean) at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect to see sunny skies with a high of 36°C and the mercury dropping to a cooler 24°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.