It takes Nada Gamal, 20, an hour each day to reach her job at E-SICO mobile factory from her home in Mousha, a small town not far from Assiut. For Gamal, the relatively long commute is a minor price to pay. “There are very few factories in all of Upper Egypt, so much so that no one believes me when I say I work in a mobile factory,” she says. “Even I questioned if there really was a factory in Assiut when my friends told me about it. ”Egypt’s first mobile factory and the SICO brand it produces are owned…
Author: Nadine Abou el Atta
As Egypt undertakes its 2030 Vision, the need to move toward a digital economy became paramount. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has introduced several reform projects to help digitally transform the government and enhance the connectivity of citizens throughout the country. The communications and information technology (ICT) industry is projected to grow by 15 percent during the current fiscal year (FY). Furthermore, the sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product is expected to reach 4 percent in FY 2018/2019, increasing to 5 percent by FY 2021/2022. The ministry is basing its reform plan and growth objectives…
Egypt’s tourism sector is often referred to as the country’s bread-and-butter. Currently contributing 20 percent of the gross domestic product, directly employing 8.9 percent of the workforce, and indirectly impacting 70 other industries, according to the Ministry of Tourism’s latest figures. Nevertheless, Minister Rania Al-Mashat, believes “there is something in the narrative related to tourism that has to change. She explains, “The way we have been dealing with tourism—to date—has either been counting the number of people coming, solving an ad hoc problem here, or crisis management there. We do well and then something happens.” To Al-Mashat, the only way…
“There are no local players in this market, a fact that allowed us to request a large percentage of payment upfront with no guarantees,” says David Youssef, CEO of EgyRobo, a Cairo-based company that develops robotic solutions. “I was able to scale my business with no external funding due to the lack of competition and uniqueness of our offerings.” Launched four years ago, Youssef believes EgyRobo is the only company of its kind operating beyond the startup-phase in Egypt. Youssef’s story suggests a lucrative untapped market, begging the question: Why aren’t there more players in the robotics industry in Egypt?…
“A common sight nowadays is billboards stacked on top of each other on any major road,” says Michael Joseph, an aviation corporate service manager. “It is too much noise. I don’t even bother looking at them anymore.” This scene didn’t exist a couple of years ago, but it is one that advertising agencies see as a natural extension of the oversaturation of the advertising market. Mass advertising—commonly referred to as above the line (ATL)—has changed remarkably in the past decade. “A while back, there were relatively few ATL communication channels: television, print, and a little bit of radio. They have…
Almost two decades ago, the government announced an ambitious plan for a 21st-century homage to the glories of millennia past, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). Since its announcement, the world has been in anticipation of what may be one of the most iconic contributions to the human heritage. The GEM is not merely a museum, it is designed to be an international cultural hub. Directly overlooking the Great Pyramids of Giza, the GEM’s planned lush landscape will offer a green lung to the congested area surrounding the pyramids. To get a glimpse of the journey and magnitude of such a…
“As with any trend in Egypt, a good percentage of customers are hopping on the bandwagon to be en vogue,” says Susan Milbank, owner of ElMarket, a store that sells a variety of vegan and gluten-free products. “Of course, I do believe a lot of people buying vegan alternatives are seriously seeking a healthier lifestyle, and in fact, the market size is growing at a promising rate.” Perhaps this is the million-dollar question: Is catering to the vegan and allergy-conscious market a viable business venture or simply an elite fad? A vegan, by definition, consumes neither animal products nor products…
Perhaps two of the most commonly mentioned terms in the news nowadays are investment and reform. Both words have been used to present a myriad of economic coverage at opposite ends of the spectrum, from new optimistic plans to strong concerns. One particular side of the Egyptian government, the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation, has witnessed a remarkable increase in media presence lately, largely fueled by bold promises. To get a better understanding of the overall trajectory of the country’s investment portfolio and its economic development, Business Monthly sat with the Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr,…
A popular media image of Egypt features an extreme aerial view of the country at night. It shows how millions of electric lights in cities and towns along the Nile illuminate the outline of the massive river, from the south, all the way to the broad Delta in the north. This iconic – if overused – picture shows how our traces of civilization resemble a gleaming lotus. The thought that metropolitan expansions in modern-day Egypt collectively mimic an important pharaonic symbol was mainstreamed after NASA first shared it a few years back. While inspiring a grand notion, the same image…