Ahmed Yassin, 31, had a surprise find when he stepped onto the beach on Alexandria’s Corniche in Bahari. There — amid the discarded plastic water bottles, ice cream boxes, and fishing nets — was a new type of garbage washing ashore. Dozens and dozens of the disposable face masks. On that overcast morning early June, days after Egypt reported 30,000 cases of COVID-19, the environmental activist collected more than 100 kilograms of plastic from a 60-meter long beach. Nearly 5 percent of the waste was surgical masks. The pandemic has brought a dramatic increase in the proliferation of single-use plastic,…
Author: Ola Noureldin
Additional reporting by Adam Skaria The brainchild of Mostafa el Nabi — a 29-year-old South Valley University graduate in his native Qena — Baramoda is a unique local startup that converts agricultural waste from sugarcane and other produce into eco-friendly biofertilizers. It claims to be the first agri-tech startup that develops tailored fertilizers in the MENA region. Nabi’s desire to contribute to waste management and agricultural sustainability was born of his belief in technology and innovation as a way to tackle environmental and industrial issues, including reducing the often-prohibitive costs of farming, enhancing farmer expertise, and reducing the impact of…
Companies around the globe have rolled out mandatory remote work. Whether you’re a work-from-home newbie or a veteran, an employee or a manager, here’s what you need to do to stay productive. The coronavirus pandemic is expected to fundamentally alter the way organizations operate for the foreseeable future. As governments and businesses around the world ask those with symptoms, and many who are not, to self-quarantine and everyone else to practice social distancing, it’s realistic to assume remote work will become a new norm for many. Some employees are working from home for the first time, which means figuring out…
With physical events set to remain on hold for some time, more businesses are using video tools for meetups and meetings and finding new ways to connect without summits and conferences. The question is whether people will return to face-to-face events even when it’s safe to do so? The Events Industry Council values the global MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) sector at more than $1 trillion and estimates that, due to the pandemic, about 23 percent of the market has disappeared. Since the onset of the pandemic, hundreds of events have been canceled worldwide. Microsoft has suspended all live events…
Optimism might be in short supply as the coronavirus pandemic grows deadlier by the day, taking thousands of lives around the world and upending daily life. But one bright spot is the speed with which the business community has begun tackling the problem. As the Egyptian government tries to contain the spread of COVID-19 at every turn, the public and private sectors rolled out promising initiatives and adopted new technologies that could help mitigate the pandemic — and save lives. The statistics are grim. In less than three months, the virus has surged from Wuhan, China, to infect more than…
With public safety the priority in these trying times, commerce has taken a back seat as companies grapple with myriad issues, from work-at-home policies and layoffs to suspension of operations and outright shuttering. A key concern for businesses is how to respond to a new reality that threatens to change the face of customer relations long after the pandemic dissipates with the prospect of people spending more time at home. Such a shift in behavior is expected to be a major determinant of how companies might conduct business. As a result, digital marketing has emerged as potentially one of the…
On the cusp of International Women’s Day, Forbes Middle East unveiled its annual Power Businesswomen in the Middle East list, packed with 100 leaders at the top of some of the most influential and transformational companies in the MENA region. “Most people on this list have worked their way up a steep career ladder for decades to reach the top of their professions,” said the Forbes report. “If there were glass ceilings to be smashed, these are the titans that first smashed them.” Forbes cited nine Egyptian women, and we sat down with five to get their thoughts on the…
Real estate is a cornerstone of Egypt’s economic vision, though many say it is in the midst of a slowdown driven by low purchasing power. Business Monthly spotlights the sector through the eyes of four key players. Magued Sherif, managing director of SODIC Properties How do you evaluate market activity post-devaluation? Magued Sherif: Things have become very challenging, with higher construction costs and the skyrocketing of interest rates. Income has not risen by the same level, as we were hit by inflation. This has had an impact on affordability. However, the market continues to be very strong, because underlying fundamentals…
That relaxing morning shower comes at a cost: 95 liters (25 gallons) of water down the drain. Multiply that by 90 million people, and more than 8.7 million liters is used every day. One 10-minute shower each morning is the equivalent of at least 100,000 glasses of drinking water every year, according to U.N. estimates. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says the largest share — 69 percent — of the world’s annual water use goes to agriculture, primarily irrigation, while industry accounts for 19 percent and households 12 percent. Egypt uses more than 80 billion cubic meters of water…
Despite improving performance and lower prices, 30-year-old computer engineer Ahmed Esmat is not ready to buy an electric car. Nonetheless, Esmat believes low operating costs combined with better technology and extended driving range will soon allow electric vehicles to compete with petrol-powered vehicles. At present, however, he sees no affordable electric vehicles (EVs) available in Egypt. Bavarian Auto Group offers the BMW i3, i8 Coupe and i8 Roadster. Revolta Egypt, meanwhile, imports new and used electric cars from a range of manufacturers, but has no dedicated maintenance network for them. “Other than BMW, it’s a nonexistent market here for now,”…