This year and next, Egypt’s GDP growth should match and surpass its record highs. According to the IMF, the country’s economy will grow 4.7% in fiscal year (FY) 2025/2026, matching the pre-2008 global financial crisis all-time high. For FY 2026/2027, GDP should rise 5.4%, a new record. Such unprecedented growth inevitably “requires more resources, raw materials, energy and water, generating more waste,” according to the Pollution Sustainability Directory (PSD), a research platform. “Many of our current production processes are linear, following a ‘take-make-dispose’ model that extracts resources, transforms them into products and then discards them after use,” PSD noted. For Egypt to sustain such a…
Author: Tamer Hafez
Born into a world where the internet and social media are integral to daily life, Gen Z (ages 14 to 29) responds to marketing strategies differently than millennials (ages 30 to 45), who encountered the internet as adults. “Millennials chose conventional [career] paths, starting with internships, getting a job, then growing to be an executive or business owner,” Ahmed Shawkat, co-founder of Shababco, a platform promoting local entrepreneurs under 30, told AmCham Egypt members in February 2025. Gen Z entrepreneurs “follow their passion, using the internet and social media to build their careers,” he noted. “Social media platforms changed how…
For Egypt, securing funding for environmental (green) projects is a priority. “Sustainable finance is a powerful tool that can be used to create balanced economic growth through transforming current threats into opportunities,” the Central Bank (CBE) said on its website. That should make the annual U.N. Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting crucial for Egypt. “COP plays a pivotal role in mobilizing climate finance … encouraging developed countries to fulfill their commitments to support developing nations in their climate efforts,” said Prasad Gollakota, chief content and operating officer at xUnlocked, a climate consultancy. However, at this year’s COP30 in November,…
Since 1977, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) has used interest rates to achieve two primary targets. The first is to achieve “maximum employment,” which requires a rapidly growing GDP (low interest rate). The second is to “stabilize prices,” which calls for low GDP growth (relatively high rates). A third, lesser-known goal is to maintain a “moderate long-term interest rate” to limit changes. Starting in May, balancing these targets could become lower priorities, as the Fed will have a new chair appointed by President Donald Trump. “A new Fed chair aligned with Trump’s views might compromise the Fed’s independence,” Etf.com, an investment platform, said…
Egypt and the EU have long had strong economic ties, supported by the EU-Egypt Association Agreement signed in 2004. The free trade pact eliminates tariffs on industrial and agricultural products, among other provisions. In 2010, both sides signed another deal that further facilitated the entry of agricultural, processed agricultural, and fisheries products into Europe. “In 2024, the EU was Egypt’s largest trading partner, accounting for 22% of Egypt’s total trade,” the EU Central Bank (ECB) said on its Egypt facts and figures webpage. “The EU was also the leading destination for Egyptian exports (26.5% of the total) and the largest source of Egyptian imports (19.9% of…
For most companies, increasing profits and decreasing costs are the dream outcome at the end of every quarter, which typically requires relying on top performers to work harder for longer. And that is likely to lead to burnout. In the Burnout Report 2025 survey, published by Mental Health UK, more than a third of respondents said they are “experiencing high or extreme levels of pressure or stress.” Meanwhile, 91% said they felt pressure or stress at some point in 2024. Meanwhile, employees feeling burned out aren’t taking enough vacation time. “When you’re working hard to achieve your career goals, taking…
Research firm Accenture, IBM, Amazon, Microsoft, courier service UPS, Google, Ikea, U.S. software company Salesforce, and language-learning app Duolingo share one thing: They all laid off hundreds or thousands of employees, saying artificial intelligence (AI) would now perform their jobs. “The fear of AI job replacement is very real, with many companies in 2025 openly admitting that the tech is eliminating jobs,” Isobel O’Sullivan, senior writer at Tech.co, a news and research platform, reported in October. For employees to retain their jobs and advance in this increasingly AI-dominated world, they need the right character traits to leverage AI power, handle…
In an era marked by unpredictable risks and rapid technological change, creativity and innovation, especially at work, are increasingly vital. A 2024 survey by Forbes found “approximately 73% … of employers say creative thinking is [the] most in-demand skill … if you want your career to thrive, or your organization to survive,” characterizing it as “an absolute necessity [for] an aspiring leader.” However, not many individuals are creative or innovative at work. According to research from the University of Pennsylvania published in July, the reason out-of-the-box thinking is less common than many believe is “creativity can feel mysterious or even…
Over the past five years, individuals and households have become increasingly aware they need more income to lead comfortable lives. “Gone are the days when a single 9-to-5 job guaranteed financial security, and you could stay employed until retirement,” noted Nael Chhaytli, a content marketing manager at Get Response, an email marketing software developer. That has made multiple income streams increasingly important. “The concept of passive … income refers to earning a regular income without actively participating in it,” said Saint Investment firm. “The importance of investing in passive income cannot be overstated. It’s a great way to invest upfront energy and resources to ensure you get paid for months or years…
For local real estate pundits, it’s hard not to see that homes have become more expensive. Aqar Sky, a real estate sales platform, estimated the price per square meter for residential units in 2025 has jumped 30% over 2024 in locations that haven’t changed much, like central Cairo, Sheikh Zayed and downtown New Cairo. Meanwhile, prices have nearly doubled in locations where development is accelerating, such as New Zayed and other suburbs of new cities. The Central Bank (CBE) noted that the housing price-to-income ratio has increased nearly 80% since 2022. In December, AUC’s Alternative Policy Solutions (APS), a research…