Why don't we trust science more?

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: EIB plans to invest EUR 50 mn in Egyptian VC firms per year

Good afternoon, wonderful people. Hump day is bringing us a relatively brisk news cycle here on the home front.

Before jumping in, we want to start by thanking the 500 of you who joined us yesterday for the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum. The day was stacked with insightful conversations with businesses and manufacturers who have successfully set themselves up as major exporters.

We’re exceptionally grateful to all of our friends whose generous support made yesterday possible:

Banking partners: Banque Misr | Al Baraka Bank | Emirates NBD | HSBC

THE BIG STORY TODAY

The European Investment Bank plans to invest over EUR 50 mn (USD 54.3 mn) per year in Egyptian VC firms to support fintech and digital transformation startups, reports Ahram Online. EIB is also particularly interested in investing in sustainable businesses, including fintech players that play a role in supporting environmental sustainability, Ahram Online quotes EIB Vice President Gelsomina Vigliotti as saying.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The international business press is giving us a mixed afternoon today as no singular story leads the conversation. Among the front-page stories:

Russian oil exports hit post-invasion high (Financial Times)
Default fears rattle Main Street investors (Wall Street Journal)
Biden, McCarthy to meet as US debt-ceiling talks come down to wire (Reuters)
Vodafone shares drop 7% after record 11k jobs cut as CEO says telco “must change” (CNBC)

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

Exports and FDI are the way forward — other countries have done it right and so can we: Egypt must combine its natural value proposition with clarity and focus to build exporting economies of scale, said Yasmine Khamis, chair of Oriental Group and Yassir Zouaoui, partner at McKinsey, during the opening panel — which set the tone for the rest of the forum — of the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum yesterday.
National Investment Bank subsidiary NI Capital is preparing to sell stakes in seven state-owned companies as part of the government’s privatization program, two of which are expected to be complete by the end of the fiscal year in June.
Green SME-led projects to receive funding from IsDB: Al Baraka Bank Egypt will receive USD 30 mn in sharia-compliant funding from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) for on-lending to green projects.

WANT TO START A CAREER IN INVESTOR RELATIONS ADVISORY?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.

NEVER WORKED IN INVESTOR RELATIONS OR ADVISORY BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Advisory Development Program. The four-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran investor relations and advisory professionals, while also applying their knowledge in a practical setting. Those who successfully complete the program will be offered full-time positions on staff for a chance to work in a flexible and supportive — but still fast-paced — work environment that eschews micromanagement and rewards good work. Enterprise Advisory offers the chance to build a network of high-ranking individuals across some of the largest and most influential companies in the region through direct exposure to clients.

During the program, you’ll learn:

Finance for non-finance people;
How to analyze businesses, their business models, their strategic advantages, and their strategies;
How to take that information and then tell an audience of investors, journalists, and analysts a compelling and well-developed story;
How to frame individual companies’ stories within the wider macroeconomic environment.

Career switchers are very welcome.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “advisory development program” in your subject line.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’s warming up in the capital city, which is expected to see a daytime high of 38°C tomorrow and a nighttime low of 18°C.

If AI wins, it’s because we’ve strayed from science + The TriFactory takes its Racemate app to Dubai

If robots and AI take over, we’ll only really have our own tendency to shun humanity’s “infinite ingenuity” to blame,Simon Schama writes in the Financial Times. Perhaps our ultimate vulnerability is our ability to be completely paradoxical, writes the author of “Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations.” The precedent Schama uses to prove his point is the vast disregard for scientific findings as exemplified by mns of people’s rejection of the covid-19 vaccine following the outbreak of the pandemic.

Science versus suspicion: Although time and time again, science has opened up new doors and scored enough accomplishments that should enable people to trust it, reason is often trumped by irrational fears, Schama notes. And some of those worries make sense: From its inception, the very concept of inoculation was cause for concern. After all, why would a perfectly healthy individual “[seek] security from [smallpox] by rushing into the embraces of it,” James Kirkpatrick, the author of the Analysis of Inoculation, is quoted as saying in 1754.

And the phobias persist: While mistrust towards inoculation may be acceptable when it happened almost 270 years ago, the indefatigability of these ideas is particularly alarming today, Schama writes. And when these theories are shared among a country’s political leadership, the harm they may cause is singularly serious. An example of that is Robert Kennedy Jr.’s belief that vaccines cause autism among children. Coming from a candidate for presidency, and not your typical conspiracy theorist, the stakes are incredibly high, and dangerous, Schama points out. This tendency to “stumble over our own inventiveness” is alarming and could spell trouble for the future of humanity as a whole when — not if — the next pandemic hits.

Ready, set, race: Racemate — an app that offers personalized and real-time pacing strategies, audio guidance, and live tracking features for participants in running events — last month expanded to Dubai, according to a company press release (pdf). The app was launched in 2021 by local sports event management company TriFactory and software developer Optomatica. It has been used in more than a dozen races across the country and plans to continue expanding here and across the MENA region.

Peter Pan gets another whimsical adaptation, with stunning cinematography

? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Peter Pan gets another adaptation:Peter Pan & Wendy is the latest adaptation of the classic children's story of the boy who never grew up. The new film, which premiered on Disney+, follows the adventures of young Wendy Darling as she and her brothers are whisked away to the magical world of Neverland by the playful and mischievous Peter Pan. The movie features a star-studded cast, including Jude Law as the villainous Captain Hook, Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell, and Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson as Peter and Wendy, respectively. Peter Pan & Wendy is a heartwarming and charming film with stunning cinematography to bring the whimsical world of Neverland to life.

⚽ Giuseppe Meazza Stadium will bring together AC Milan and Inter Milan for their Champions League semi-final match at 10pm tonight. The first leg of the semi-final round ended with Inter snagging a victory with two goals, while AC Milan didn’t score any. Inter can therefore settle for a loss with one goal in tonight’s match to move ahead to the championship final, while AC Milan would have to end tonight’s face-off with a 3-0 victory to make it to the final.

Meanwhile in the Egyptian League tonight:

Haras Al Hodoud v Arab Contractors (5pm)
Smouha v Future (7pm)
Tala’ea Al Gaish v Pharco (9:30pm)

Dive into Egypt’s infinitely rich contemporary art world: The “Traces of Egypt” Exhibition began in late March and will continue until Thursday, 15 June, at the Grand Egyptian Museum. The exhibit is organized by Egyptian-German artist Susan Hefuna and celebrates the country’s Khayamiya tradition through 28 dresses celebrating local artisans and their craftsmanship.

Expressionist depiction of Egypt’s rural communities: Artist Omar Abdel Zaher’s latest art exhibition, Roots, is still running through Wednesday, 24 May. The exhibition is “a sincere, impassioned exploration and meditation on the modest and down-to-earth sanctities of Egypt’s rural communities.”

Start training for your next half marathon: The TriFactory is hosting another edition of itsMadinaty Half Marathon on Friday, 9 June at Madinaty. You can sign up for the event through the TriFactory website.

Carrie Soto is Back: A retired athlete returns to reclaim her past glory. But can she do it? Despite the years that have gone by, despite a body that isn’t as cooperative as it used to be now that she has hit her late 30s, and despite people’s virulent scrutiny and the media’s enduring skepticism of Carrie’s not-so-friendly demeanor? But the stakes are too high when young tennis champion Nicki Chan threatens to beat Soto’s staggering career: A long and arduous journey where she managed to amass 20 Grand Slam single titles. And so, she takes the plunge. Carrie comes out of retirement to give her lasting passion for the sport her all one final time in an attempt to defend her name and legacy. Carrie goes back to being coached by her father — a tennis champion himself who has dedicated his life to training her — and finds herself meeting old flame Bowe Huntley. Her comeback promises more than just a victory on the court, but a new trajectory for her life altogether.

What the markets are doing on 16 May, 2023

The EGX30 fell 0.6% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 2.04 bn. Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 16.7% YTD.

In the green: Ibnsina Pharma (+10.9%), Rameda (+2.2%) and Elsewedy Electric (+1.0%).

In the red: Oriental Weavers (-4.8%), Mopco (-4.5%) and Heliopolis Housing (-3.9%).

Meet our founder of the week: Hadeel Fayek, founder and CEO of Joviality

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 Hadeel Fayek (LinkedIn), founder and CEO of Joviality.

My name is Hadeel Fayek, and I’m the founder and CEO of Joviality, which produces natural beauty products for skin and hair. These products do not include additives, unnecessary ingredients or harmful toxins.

I’m actually a pharmacist by education. I graduated from the German University in Cairo in 2009 and worked there as an assistant lecturer for a few years, earning my Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutics, which is the formulation of cosmetics and drugs. During that time, taking a more natural direction when it comes to beauty products became a global trend. Additionally, I’m very sensitive to a lot of products in the markets, which makes me a very light user of such products. That’s why I started using my experience in formulations to create natural cosmetics for myself and my kids.

I became obsessed with the idea and realized that most options that are available to us here in Egypt in that domain are very basic. An important reason why consumers moved away from using natural beauty products is because they were complicated to use. You have to mix certain things together at certain quantities. But we weren’t offered a complete, easy-to-use solution. So I used the science behind it to come up with a user-friendly, modern, natural product and founded Joviality with my sister Rana and co-founder Ahmed Shafiek in 2016.

Today, we have eight stores across Cairo and Alexandria. We started out digitally, of course, but were able throughout the years to increase our physical presence in the form of our own stores, as well as selling our products in other stores.

To start my own business, I had to give up my academic career. It was a huge dream of mine to start Joviality so I wanted to dedicate 100% of my time to it. And while I stopped teaching, I did delve deeper into the science behind the subject matter, which is what I loved about academia. I wouldn’t say I gave up my time, because I’m actually spending my time doing something I love.

When we started, there were barely any competitors in the market, unlike today. Natural cosmetics had just started to emerge in 2016, but today, a lot of companies are labeling their products as natural. This has given us a first-mover advantage, but has also made things more challenging to maintain the position of a key player in the market.

The most important KPI I look at daily are revenues and the top sold products. I also check on how our different stores are performing and whether the team and work environment is positive. On a monthly basis, I look at how our different products have performed throughout the month, as well as bottom line.

The first person I turn to for advice on the business is my father, Hamdy Fayek. He used to be the general manager of Wyeth Nutrition and Pfizer Nutrition in Egypt, the GCC and Levant. That’s why he was my go-to person from the first day and he also helped me establish my business.

You need a lot of support from the people around you when you start your own business. If it isn’t there, it can become very hard. I got married right when I graduated and have two children. So I would not have been able to make it without my family’s support and I was very lucky to receive it. Although they were shocked when I told them I’d leave academia to start my own business with two kids, they were extremely supportive.

Joviality is completely bootstrapped. Investors have reached out to us for potential investment, but every time I start going down that road, I backtrack because I don’t feel the need for it. I have the financial support I need from our revenues to complete the plan I have laid out. I’d rather have someone come in with experience, than with financing.

In my down time I draw, write, and play with my children. I start a lot of things in my personal time but don’t finish them, like playing piano, for example.

In terms of other startups that are killing it, I really like the way Palma is growing. Their products are great, they care about details, and their customer service is excellent. But there are a lot of local brands and startups that are doing a great job.

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

MAY

6-20 May (Saturday-Saturday): Cairo Film Society Festival for Egyptian Cinema at the Artistic Creativity Center at the Cairo Opera House.

13 May-13 June (Saturday-Tuesday): Annual Flower Exhibition from 10am at the Agricultural Museum.

24 May (Wednesday): Last day of Omar Abdel Zaher’s Roots exhibition at the Safarkhan Art Gallery.

25-27 May (Thursday-Saturday): TriFactory’s Somabay Endurance Festival.

JUNE

9 June (Friday): TriFactory Madinaty Half Marathon.

10 June (Saturday): Thanaweya Amma examinations begin.

15 June (Thursday): Last day of the Traces of Egypt Exhibition at the Grand Egyptian Museum.

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

30 June (Friday): June 30 Revolution Day.

JULY

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

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.

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): The sixth edition of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

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