Economy on track to recover in 2025, says PM

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What We're Tracking Today

Looking at the fiscal year ahead

We’re only four days into 2024, but the year is already shaping up to be a busy one for business and economy news. In today’s packed issue, we’ve got a rundown of Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly’s presser on the economy, a sneak peek at next fiscal year’s budget, and much, much more.

So let’s jump straight into it.

THE BIG STORY on this last workday of the week…

The long weekend is finally here: Both the private and public sector have Sunday off to mark Coptic Christmas.The EGX and banks will also be taking the day off, according to a bulletin from the bourse and a statement (pdf) from the central bank.

** EnterpriseAM will also be taking a break, butwe will be back in your inbox at our customary time with all the latest business news from over the long weekend on Monday, 8 January.

HAPPENING TODAY-

S&P Global will publish Egypt’s PMI figures for December today at around 7:15am CLT. Economic headwinds and inflationary pressures kept the contraction in private-sector activity persistent in November and optimism in our private sector hit record lows.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- EGP 500 bn worth of CDs are set to mature starting tomorrow: Certificates of deposit (CDs) introduced by Banque Misr and the NBE in January 2023 as part of a wider plan by the central bank to tamp down on inflation by reducing liquidity in the market reach maturity starting tomorrow. The two banks are expected to issue new high-yield CDs to coincide with the batch of CDs starting to mature, banking sources told Masrawy. Most analysts expect the banks to issue CDs with the same yield, but some expect returns to reach a fresh record-high of 27%.

#2- Central bank auctions fresh T-bills: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) sold USD 850 mn in one-year USD-denominated T-bills in an auction on Tuesday, according to data on its website. The bills were sold at an interest rate of 5.149%, 50 bps higher than the one-year bills sold in January 2023.

PSA #1- The universal healthcare ins. system went live in South Sinai: The Madbouly government has announced that the universal health ins. system has been in effect in South Sinai as of 1 January, according to a cabinet readout. South Sinai is now the fourth governorate to be covered by the system after Port Said, Luxor, and Ismailia.

RED SEA WATCH-

Another Houthi attack on merchant ships: The Iranian-backed Houthi group fired twomissiles on Tuesday night at merchant ships in the southern Red Sea, although no damage was reported, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM). The UN Security Council met yesterday to discuss the situation in the Red Sea in which UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari argued "No cause or grievance can justify continuation of these attacks against the freedom of navigation."

Hapag-Lloyd won’t be back to the Suez Canal for at least a week: Following in the footsteps of Maersk’s decision pause to Red Sea transit again on Sunday, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd has decided to continue diverting its vessels away from the Suez Canal — a maritime route which carries around 12% of world trade — opting to use the Cape of Good Hope instead until at least 9 January, Reuters reported. The world’s fifth-largest container shipping company will review the decision in its Tuesday’s crisis committee meeting.

DATA POINT-

Our population grew 8% slower in 2023 than the year before according to a report (pdf) from state statistics agency Capmas. The national tally came in at up by 1.5 mn people 105.9 mn on the first day of 2024 — a 1.4% y-o-y jump.

** Or to put it another way: Throughout 2023, over 2 mn babies were born, meaning one baby was born on average every 15.4 seconds — or 233 babies every hour.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Nearly 100 killed in bomb attack in Iran: Two explosions have killed at least 95 people and injured 211 at a ceremony for the fourth anniversary of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani’s assassination by the US. The death toll is still being updated, but already stands as the deadliest attack on the country since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. No group or nation has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iranian parliamentarians have pointed the finger at Israel and Washington said that the attack was instead likely perpetrated by an Islamic State-linked group. (New York Times | Washington Post | CNN | Financial Times | Guardian | Bloomberg | Reuters | Associated Press)

MEANWHILE- Harvard president calls it quits: Harvard President Claudine Gay has resigned following allegations of plagiarism and criticisms of an insufficient response to antisemitism on campus, exposing the fractures and culture wars that the university is under mounting pressure to address. (Washington Post | New York Times | Reuters | BBC | Bloomberg)

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Gov’t is feeling upbeat about economic recovery next year: The economy is set to overcome the ongoing crisis and be back on track in 2025, after a series of global events — from Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine to global inflation — threw earlier economic progress off track, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said during a presser yesterday (watch, runtime: 33:45).

The country’s subsidy bill has more than tripled over the last two years: The government footed a subsidy bill of EGP 342 bn in 2023, compared to under EGP 100 bn in 2021, Madbouly said, explaining that bigger subsidies coupled with higher interest rates added to the country’s debt burden because subsidies get financed via debt. Here’s a breakdown of last year’s subsidy costs according to Madbouly:

Bread: EGP 91 bn
Electricity: EGP 90 bn
Diesel: EGP 90 bn
Food rations: EGP 36 bn
Butane cylinders: EGP 35 bn

That’s not all: The government also coughs up EGP 22 bn a year to subsidize medications doled out to patients at public hospitals. Other subsidies include fertilizers, water, and baby formulas, Madbouly added without providing further details.

Electricity subsidies going away? The government now plans to phase out almost all electricity subsidies over the next five years, Madbouly said. The electricity price hikes thatwent into effect on Monday will reduce the government’s annual expenditure for electricity subsidies by EGP 15 bn to EGP 75 bn. One KWh/month of electricity costs the government EGP 1.77, Madbouly said. That’s more than the EGP 1.65 households will now pay in the highest consumption bracket.

Electricity subsidies? Although it’s not included in the budget, the government noted previously in the budget’s financial statement that it will cover the Electricity Ministry's losses resulting from selling electricity below cost.

Doubling down on fiscal and monetary policies + structural reform: The government has a target to bring its debt-to-GDP ratio to under 80% within the next five years from the current level of around 95%, cut inflation to less than 10% at some point in 2025, and continue to focus on structural reforms, investment incentives, and back resilient sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture, Madbouly said.The government hopes to see inflation average at 15% in the next fiscal year as we noted in our budget call coverage below.

Remember: The CBE's average inflation target is 7% (±2%) by 4Q 2024 and 5% by 4Q 2026.This target has been in place since December 2022.

The Madbouly presser and recent price hikes got ink in the foreign press:Bloomberg

Egypt is targeting growth of 4.7% for the next fiscal year and 3.0% for this year

What can we expect from next fiscal year’s budget? Yesterday, we got our firstglance at the Finance Ministry’s fiscal projections for the fiscal year 2024-2025, giving us the government’s initial targets for growth, inflation, deficit, and primary surplus for the year. The budget call circularseen by Enterprise also laid out revised projections for the current fiscal year.

GROWTH-

Growth to pick up: The Madbouly government sees the economy growing at a 4.7% clip in thecoming fiscal year from an estimated 3.0% in FY 2023-2024 and 4.2% the year before.

This year’s growth forecast slashed again: This year’s growth projections are 0.5 percentagepoints lower than Planning Minister Hala El Said’s latest forecast. Last month, the minister said she expects the economy to grow at a 3.5% clip in the fiscal year ending June 2024.

A little less optimistic than international monitors: The IMF, the World Bank, and S&P Global penciled in 3.5-3.7% growth in FY 2023-24 late last year.

But more optimistic than one: Capital Economics expects the economy growing “well belowconsensus expectations” at 2.5% this fiscal year and 3.8% for the next year. “Over the remainder of this fiscal year and heading into FY 2024-25, the growth outlook is pretty bleak,” MENA economist James Swanston wrote in a note seen by Enterprise

INFLATION-

Ambitious inflation targets: The government is hoping to see annual headline inflation fall toan average of 15% for the upcoming fiscal year, a significant drop from the estimated 38% for the current year.

Other targets:

Budget deficit: The government now sees the budget deficit finishing the current fiscalyear at 7.5% — from a previously projected 7.0% — from 6.0% the year before. The state sees the budget deficit narrowing slightly to 7.2% for FY 2024-25.
Primary surplus: This year’s primary surplus remains within the government’s initialexpectations of 2.5% and will remain the same through next year.
Debt-to-GDP: The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio will fall to 92.2% this fiscal year from95.7% recorded in June of last year. The government sees the debt-to-GDP ratio narrowing further to 91.9% in the coming fiscal year.

Beltone, Chimera part of new Abu Dhabi holdco with >USD 27 bn in assets

Introducing 2PointZero: Abu Dhabi’s USD 239 bn International Holding Company(IHC) has set up a new holding company named 2PointZero expected to hold more than AED 100 bn worth of assets — equivalent to USD 27 bn — including Beltone Financial Holding, Chimera, and Lunate, according to an IHC statement (pdf).

The local angle: Cairo-headquartered Beltone has returned to life under a new management team and ambitions in the region and beyond under CEO Dalia Khorshid and her team. Chimera, led by regional finance veteran Seif Fikry, has invested heavily in Egypt, including in Beltone, GB Lease, MNT-Halan, and a small stake in EFG Holding.

2PointZero will also hold crypto mining player Citadel Technologies, Middle-East focused Sagasse Investments, private-markets focused firm Lunate, as well as Abu Dhabi’s International Resources Holding.

What they said: “2PointZero is committed to having a transformative impact globally. Ourdedication to technology and Artificial Intelligence is evident in our commitment to developing solutions that redefine industries such as financial services, investment banking, and resource management,” IHC Chairman Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan said.

Sound smart: Sheikh Tahnoon is the UAE’s national security advisor and a leading business figure in the country.

The ownership breakdown: IHC will own 87% of 2PointZero, the company told Reuters without disclosing who will own the remaining 13%. Sheikh Tahnoon’s Royal Group owns some 61% of IHC.

The news received coverage from: Reuters and Bloomberg.

Car sales in Egypt jump in November to a 2023 record

Auto sales record 2023 high: Monthly car sales hit their highest level of 2023 inNovember, according to figures released yesterday by the Automotive Marketing Information Council (AMIC). Distributors sold over 9.9k vehicles in November, up 10% from October and the highest monthly figure since September 2022, according to our internal tracker.

The details: The jump in sales was driven by passenger car sales, which rose 14% m-o-m to7,916. Truck sales also rose over 9% m-o-m to 1,089. Bus sales fell in November 8.2% from the month prior to 929.

Sales are also up from where they were a year ago, recording a 24% y-o-y increase, thanksto the uptick in passenger car sales. Passenger car sales were up 52% y-o-y, while bus (32%) and truck (22%) sales were both down y-o-y.

2023 has been an underwhelming year for the auto market: Distributors sold a little under 80k units in the first 11 months of 2023, almost half of the 176.9k units during the same period in 2022.

Zooming out: This jump in sales comes following an extended period of the industry beingweighed down by the FX crunch, which made it difficult to secure the necessary imports. It remains unclear whether this upward trajectory will carry through into December’s numbers and the new year, seeing as our FX situation has remained somewhat unchanged between the two months.

The caveat: AMIC figures reflect data contributed by member distributors, who include most(but not all) industry participants.

Madbouly cabinet beefs up penalties for strategic commodities hoarding

Cabinet ratchets up hoarding penalties and extends incubation period for companies: In their weekly meeting, ministers approved an amendment to deter the hoarding of strategic commodities and gave the nod to an extension to the grace period for companies and institutions to wrap up their paperwork, according to a cabinet statement.

#1- Tougher hoarding punishment: The Madbouly cabinet greenlit an amendment to the Consumer Protection Act, intensifying penalties on strategic commodities hoarding. Hoarding now merits at least one year in prison, and fines ranging from EGP 100k up to EGP 2 mn, or an amount equivalent to the value of the withheld commodities. Violators’ businesses will be subject to up to a six-month of closure, which could be extended into fully canceling their business licenses.

ICYMI: The Madbouly government earlier this week named seven commodities as “strategic commodities”, prohibiting traders from withholding them from the market.

#2- Extended grace period for setting up companies: Ministers also approved a draft law to extend the three-year duration given to companies and institutions to wrap up their establishment procedures for another three years. The extension was greenlit so that investment projects can benefit from the incentives listed in the Investment Law, which grant these projects 30-50% revenue tax deductions approved by the cabinet in July.

ALSO FROM THE MADBOULY GOVERNMENT-

Land plots for USD: The New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) approved a decision to sell land plots to several companies for USD sourced from outside the country, according to a cabinet statement. The Authority has received “ many requests by Arab and foreign investors” to pay for state-owned land in USD, officials have said, as part of various initiatives to drum up hard currency amid a persistent shortage.

The House signs off amendment to desert lands ownership law + greenlights agreements with EBRD, ADEX, AFD

MPs greenlight selling desert plots to foreigners in heated session: It was an eventful session at the House yesterday as MPs gave their final go-ahead on a proposed amendment to the law regulating ownership of desert lands. The proposed law allows foreign nationals to buy and own land in the country’s spacious desert areas and gives them rights to own more than 51% in companies that invest in desert land developments.

All in favor, say aye: Mostaqbal Watan MPs were for amending the law as it works in line with the government’s plans to ramp up foreign investments into the country — and we have no shortage of unused desert lands.

All those opposed, say nay: Some MPs were strongly against the amendment, citing national security concerns. MP Diaa Eddin Dawoud said the law could be used by “malicious foreigners” to own large areas of land, which could jeopardize our national security. Tagammu’s Atef El Maghawry told MPs that the amendment to desert ownership laws could “open the door for foreigners to own 90% of our land.”

Calming fears: Addressing the MPs’ concerns, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alaa Fouad said the law mandates that all purchase requests from foreign investors must get a security approval first. Fouad also stressed that ownership of land in Sinai is subject to a separate law, which makes it impossible for foreigners to own land in the peninsula.

What’s next? The amendment will go into full effect once it gets the presidential seal and is published in the Official Gazette.

Also in the house:

Move over LIBOR: MPs greenlit an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to change to the secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) when inking agreements with the lender, instead of the “more costly to borrowers” London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).
Econ Committee nods through two wheat agreements: The House Economic Affairs committee approved a USD 500 mn agreement with Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) to finance our wheat imports and a EUR 56.7 mn grant from the French Agency for Development (AFD) to expand our wheat silos capacity.

The war and the economy topped the agenda on last night’s airwaves

It was a mixed bag on the airwaves last night, with Madbouly’s presser on the economy grabbing the attention of the nation’s talking heads and fears of regional escalation following the suspected Israeli drone strike in Beirut keeping everyone talking late into the night.

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly’s presser sought to drive home an important message to the citizens, cabinet spokesperson Mohamed El Homsani told Ala Masouleety’s host Ahmed Moussa. Reforming the economy is a gradual and often difficult process, but the government will always support “low income earners,” Homsani stressed. The spokesperson said that Madbouly wanted to highlight that “the government has clear vision and plans for the economic reforms and the challenges we face due to the global economic crisis.”

** We have a full run-down of the presser in the news well, above.

War & (very little chance of) Peace: If Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah decides to retaliate to the suspected Israeli drone strike in Beirut that killed Hamas’ deputy leader, it would be an isolated and small-scale response to “target [the inside of] the occupied territories … maybe Jerusalem or Tel Aviv” or assassinate “a major [Israeli] figure,” Maj. Gen. Samir Ragheb told Sherif Amer. However, Ragheb ruled out the possibility of Nasrallah declaring a full war on Israel, adding that even “the US wouldn’t [stand still]” like it does with Gaza and that none of the involved parties want a full-scale war. (Yahduth Fi Misr | watch, runtime: 3:24) (Al Hayah Al Youm | watch, runtime: 10:09 | 1:49) (Masa DMC | watch, runtime: 16:32)

Lamees is not happy about the new travel regulations: Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidy claimed that the government’s new regulations mandating that minors under the age of 18 obtain prior permission from the authorities before traveling alone outside Egypt were unconstitutional during her show on Tuesday. “The decision makes things difficult for millions of people who want to travel just to prevent a couple of thousand people from migrating illegally”, El Hadidy told her viewers (watch, runtime: 1:26).

Egyptian Competition Authority slams 33 printing presses for violations. PLUS: Egyptalum raises prices

COMPETITION-

ECA catches 33 printing houses red-handed: The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) has spotted violations committed by 33 printing companies in a tender for printing Education Ministry books last academic year, according to an ECA press release. The violating companies were found to have coordinated between each other prior to the tender to rig the minimum price offers, which counts as wasting public funds.

MANUFACTURING-

Egyptalum has raised its prices by EGP 6k per ton at the beginning of the year, on the back of a c. USD 200 global rise in aluminum prices, Al Borsa reported. The company, which uses the London Metal Exchange as a price reference, raised its prices after aluminum spiked on the LSE — prices rose from USD 2.1k per ton in the beginning of December to USD 2.3k yesterday. The company could move forward with another price hike if the EGP falls against the greenback.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund ranked as world’s top sovereign wealth fund big spender in 2023

PIF’s 2023 splurge lands it in first place as the world’s highest spending sovereign wealth fund, revealing an “unparalleled bandwidth and reach,”Diego López, founder and managing director of Global SWF said in the consulting group’s annual report (pdf). The past year saw the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) spend USD 31.6 bn through 49 transactions, up 33% from the USD 20.7 bn invested in 2022. For the first time in six years, Singapore’s deep-pocketed GIC was knocked out of first place.

It also laid claim to the three largest investments of the year: PIF paid USD 4.9 bn for US gaming company Scopely, took over Standard Chartered’s aircraft leasing division in a USD 3.6 bn purchase, and acquired SABIC’s steel unit Hadeed for USD 3.3 bn.

PIF also treated itself to the occasional sports league: In June, PIF took control of the kingdom’s four leading soccer clubs, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr, Reuters reports. In addition, the fund stunned the golf world with its PGA Tour merger, which is yet to be finalized. PIF also owns a USD 8.1 bn stake in gaming companies Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Take-Two — in a bid to turn the country into a gaming hub.

HONORABLE MENTION-

The GCC named “Region of The Year”: In 2023, assets under management of GCC sovereign wealth fundsGCC sovereign wealth funds reached a historical peak of USD 4.1 tn, led by the so-called “Oil Five”: KSA’s PIF, Abu Dhabi’s ADIA, Mubadala, and ADQ, and Qatar’s QIA.

ALSO WORTH NOTING-

US firms are turning to convertible bonds: Issuance of convertible debt in theUS climbed 77% last year to USD 48 bn, bucking the trend of otherwise quiet corporate fundraising across capital markets. Experts see the love for convertible debt continuing into 2024 as companies look to refinance maturing debt. (Financial Times)

EGX30	25,409	+0.4% (YTD: +2.1%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 30.82	Sell 30.96
USD at CIB	Buy 30.85	Sell 30.95
Interest rates CBE	19.25% deposit	20.25% lending
Tadawul	11,929	-1.6% (YTD: -0.3%)
ADX	9,716	+1.3% (YTD: +1.4%)
DFM	4,078	-0.3% (YTD: +0.4%)
S&P 500	4,705	-0.8% (YTD: -1.4%)
FTSE 100	7,682	-0.5% (YTD: -0.7%)
Euro Stoxx 50	4,448	-1.4% (YTD: -1.6%)
Brent crude	USD 78.25	+3.1%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.69	+4.7%
Gold	USD 2,048.90	-1.2%
BTC	USD 42,765	-4.9% (YTD: +1.2%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.4% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 3.6 bn (8.5% above the 90-day average). Regional investors were net sellers. The index is up 2.1% YTD.

In the green: GB Corp (+4.8%), Qalaa Holdings (+4.2%), and Beltone Holding (+2.8%).

In the red: Alex Containers and Cargo Handling (-2.2%), Mopco (-2.1%) and ADIB Egypt (-1.8%).

Asian shares are solidly in the red this morning, with Japan leading sentiment down as trading resumed after a prolonged New Year’s holiday that saw an earthquake and the burning of a Japan Airlines jet at Tokyo’s Haneda airport after it struck another airplane on landing. Futures suggest benchmark indexes in Europe (excluding the CAC40) will open in the green. It’s also looking good for Wall Street and Bay Street as we head into dispatch time.

Egypt isn’t happy with Ethiopia’s border stretch attempt. PLUS: Sisi meets US Congressional delegation

Egypt has voiced its “opposition to any measures that would undermine Somalisovereignty,” a day after landlocked Ethiopia inked an MoU with Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland to use one of its ports in a bid to gain access to the sea. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry called on Wednesday for refraining from unilateral measures that could threaten the national security of neighboring countries, a Foreign Ministry statement said.President Abdel Fattah El Sisi had a phone call on Tuesday with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, where he confirmed “Egypt's firm position to stand by Somalia and support its security and stability”.

El Sisi discusses Gaza war with US Congress: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi stressed theimportance of a ceasefire in Gaza, the safety of civilians, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the strip during his meeting with a delegation from the US Congress yesterday, according to an Ittihadeya statement. El Sisi also spoke on the phone with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about the situation in Gaza.

My Morning Routine: Adham Elbedewy, head of commercial at Kemitt

Adham Elbedewy, head of commercial and a founding team member at Kemitt:Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Adham Elbedewy (LinkedIn), head of commercial and a founding team member at Kemitt. Edited excerpts from our conversation:

I’m 23 years old and I’ve been working in tech for the past six years. I met the cofoundersof Kemitt — Mahmoud Fouad, Mohamed Hedayat, and Mohamed Rashwan — at a business incubator called TIEC. Together we’ve grown Kemitt to be one of the largest e-commerce marketplaces focused on furniture and home accessories in MENA.

We have over 80k products on our platform, represented by 1.5k furniture suppliers across22 categories, from pillowcases to full living rooms. We’ve been working to change how people shop for furniture online locally and we’re expanding into Saudi Arabia in February.

The commercial team I lead works on three main pillars: variety, affordability, andconvenience. We offer users thousands of options for whatever their homes may need, offering them different materials and price points. We work with larger brands such as Oriental Weavers, Nouval, and Smart Furniture, to small-and-medium manufacturers that wouldn’t usually be displayed in regular stores or online.

I usually start my day at 8:30am. The first thing I do is check my emails, messages, and thenews. I do a few home workouts in the morning to get the blood flowing, as the office is a 40-minute commute to Maadi. On the commute to work, I take calls with the team to discuss the agenda for the day or I’ll touch base with partners to arrange the day’s meetings.

While no two working days are the same, there are some things I like to keep constant. I believe it’s important to feel close to the team and to celebrate small wins. At the office, my first order of business is always getting coffee and breakfast with the team. We do a daily 10-15 minute “stand-up” meeting, during which each individual answers three questions: what did I achieve yesterday, what am I working on today, and what issues are blocking me? It keeps everyone aware of the team’s landscape and progress, and helps us track the team performance.

After our daily team meeting, I’ll check the performance metrics from the day before.There are a lot of performance dashboards to look at from the day before, from the supply side and the demand side. Then, I conduct internal meetings between 1-3pm and any external meetings will happen between 3-6pm. This is fixed across all teams to avoid clashes and ensure efficiency of workflow.

The ‘horizontal marketplace’ model has dominated e-commerce over the past couple ofyears. These are marketplaces that cover all categories such as furniture, cosmetics, appliances, and so on. Amazon, Jumia, and Noon have dominated this model. Recently, we’ve seen the rise of ‘vertical marketplaces,’ which are more focused on a single product category. In Egypt this is seen in Brantu and TFK for the fashion vertical, and Mummerz for the kids category.

No one in the region had previously adopted the vertical marketplace model for furnitureproducts. So we built Kemitt as a solution not only responding to user demand, but to meet the needs of suppliers. We enable e-commerce users to receive a comprehensive spectrum of home and furniture products and allow small-scale suppliers and manufacturers to access a huge customer base and expand their reach and scale.

The furniture industry has a larger average order value than most other industries. Ouraverage order is worth EGP 8.7k, which even surpasses the electrical appliances sector. However, retention of customers is harder in the furniture industry, which is why we work on introducing new categories such as home decor and bedding.

My favorite part of the day is the hours between 6-8pm —which I call my creative time — when I’m not busy with meetings. I’ll work on strategic projects, maybe crunch some numbers, work on model development, or look to improve the team’s workflow.

One of the shows I believe every tech entrepreneur should watch is: Working: What We Do All Day — a four-part Netflix docuseries in which the host — Barack Obama — visits three American workplaces. The series features great discussions on work in the past, present, and future. It doesn’t provide all the answers but gives all of us a lot to think about.

One book I’d like to recommend is Simon Sinek’s Start with Why: How Great LeadersInspire Everyone to Take Action. The book looks into how to create clear values in a company based on communication within the workplace. It covers how leaders inspire those in the workplace around them.

“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” This quote is the best advice I’ve been given.I was 18 at the time when I first heard it, and was just starting out in the tech ecosystem. I took part in a program run by Spark Ventures with Orascom Egypt’s Khaled Bishara, who shared the quote in one of our sessions.

CALENDAR

2024

JANUARY

7 January (Sunday): Coptic Christmas (national holiday).

9 January (Tuesday): B Investments’ general assembly (pdf) to look into capital increase ahead of Orascom Financial Holding (OFH) acquisition.

17 January (Wednesday): A delegation of Egyptian companies to visit Istanbul.

25 January (Thursday): Revolution Day / Police Day (national holiday).

FEBRUARY

1 February (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

1 February (Thursday): OPEC+ oil market monitoring online meeting.

11 February (Sunday): Deadline to apply for the Chicago Booth Executive Programin El Gouna.

25 February 2024 (Sunday): Deadline to bid for 23 blocks in an international oil and gas tender.

MARCH

20 March (Wednesday): End of sugar export ban.

28 March (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

APRIL

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

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

MAY

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

5 May (Sunday): Coptic Easter.

6 May (Monday): Sham El Nessim (national holiday).

23 May (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

29 May (Wednesday): Virtual launch of Chicago Booth Executive Program.

JUNE

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

30 June (Sunday): June 30 Revolution Day (national holiday).

JULY

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

18 July (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

23 July (Tuesday): Revolution Day (national holiday).

SEPTEMBER

2-5 September (Monday-Thursday): Egypt International Airshow, El Alamein International Airport.

5 September (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

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

OCTOBER

6 October (Sunday): Armed Forces Day.

17 October (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

NOVEMBER

21 November (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

DECEMBER

26 December (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

January 2024: The Red Sea Ports Authority is set to finalize an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Ports Group for the operation and maintenance of the tourist passenger terminal in the Sharm El-Sheikh Sea Port.

Transport Ministry to conclude an agreement with an international maritime transport company for the management and operation of 3 terminals in the ports of Safaga, Hurghada, and Sharm El-Sheikh.

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

February-May: The Grand Egyptian Museum could officially open to visitors.

June 2024: Gov’t expects to finalize sale of Beni Suef combined-cycle power plant.

1H 2024: Gov’t expects to finalize sale of four water desalination plants.

2H 2024: Gov’t to launch the Cairo Ring Road BRT buses.

November 2024: Egypt to host the World Urban Forum (WUF12).

End of 2024: The launch of the high-speed train line linking Ain Sokhna with Al Alamein City.

2024: Standard Chartered Bank to open a branch in Egypt.

2025

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2Q 2025: Safaga Terminal 2 to start operations.

2027

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

End of 2027: Trial operations at the Dabaa nuclear power plant expected to take place.

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