Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We’re writing to you shortly after closing the curtain on this year’s EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum, where we brought together many senior bankers, finance industry players, corporate leaders, and other members of our business community.

It was another blockbuster event, with Dr Rania Al Mashat, minister of planning, economic development and international cooperation, and Hassan El Khatib, the nation’s minister of investment and foreign trade each speaking to us in keynote interviews. We also talked to business leaders about the future of work, how AI and tech are shaping the world around us, what resilient businesses are doing today to set themselves up for success tomorrow, and lots more.

A BIG THANK YOU to all of our speakers for joining us on stage, to the more than 650 senior members of our community in the audience — and the sponsors and partners who made it all possible.

Keep an eye out for our comprehensive coverage of the forum in a new special series, coming to your inboxes in the coming weeks.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

The World Bank upgraded Egypt’s growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 4.3% y-o-y, marking a modest — but nonetheless positive — increase of 0.1 percentage points from its previous forecast in June, the international financial organization said in its latest Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAAP) Economic Update report (pdf).

But the real good news is for the previous fiscal year that ended in June, in which the bank raised its forecast for a whole 0.7 percentage points to 4.5% y-o-y from its previous projection. The bank also raised its growth forecast for the next fiscal year by 0.2 percentage points from previous expectations to a 4.8% y-o-y clip.

The region as a whole has also shown some signs of recovery, with the World Bank’s latest forecasts for MENAAP now expecting GDP to average 2.8% in 2025, marking a marginal increase of 0.1 percentage points from its June forecast. The upward revision is backed by “stronger oil activity, resilient non-oil sectors, and a rebound in agriculture and tourism,” the lender said. Regional GDP growth is also expected to accelerate further to 3.3% next year and 3.8% in 2027.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Almost all digital front pages are marking the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel and the subsequent war that ravaged Gaza and left at least tens of thousands of civilians dead. “The biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” Axios writes — while opting for more subdued wording when discussing the ensuing catastrophe in Gaza, noting the war has caused the worst “killing” and displacement of Palestinians since the Nakba.

“Time does not diminish the evil we saw that day,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier today, referring to Israeli deaths, in an attempt to discourage “un-British” pro-Palestinian protests. Marches and commemorations are being reported across Israel as the occupying state continues its offensive on Gaza. Concurrently, negotiations have begun in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to discuss US President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan.

“Israel's offensive in Gaza [...] has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and laid waste to swathes of territory,” Reuters leads, further noting the extent of the damage caused by the war. Since 7 October 2023, over 67k Palestinians have been killed — a number understated by as much as 25k deaths according to a study (pdf) published in the Lancet and reported by the New York Times and the Guardian in January. In comparison, some 1.6k Israelis and foreign nationals were killed over the two-year period, including those killed in the 7 October attacks, according to numbers provided by Israel.

Since the events of 7 October, global support for Israel has plummeted, with support for Palestinian rights and statehood seeing considerable increase. Earlier in September, a UN commission of inquiry found that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.

As global media shines the spotlight on Israel’s losses and testimonies from hostages’ families, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was received in Athens with applause from a slew of pro-Palestinian supporters, following detainment in Israel after the Sumud Flotilla was intercepted, Reuters reports. "What we aimed to do with the Global Sumud Flotilla was to step up when our governments failed to do their [...] obligation," Thunberg addressed the crowd.

The Swedish activist — alongside a number of others on the flotilla — cited inhumane conditions during detainment, including sleep deprivation, lack of food and water, and physical abuse — conditions the Guardian simply described as “harsh treatment.” (Axios | BBC | CNN | Reuters | Guardian)

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Temperatures are slightly on the rise once more, with the capital set to experience a high of 32°C before cooling down to 19°C, according to our favorite weather app.