This article first appeared in July’s print edition of Business Monthly magazine. For local private-sector companies, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a major financier and adviser. Last fiscal year, it invested $7 billion in Egypt-based projects, while its local “advisory portfolio” reached $34 billion. Additionally, the government appointed the IFC in June 2023 as a “strategic adviser” to help privatize state-owned firms. “The IFC is uniquely placed to play this role given its neutrality, strong reputation, broad global experience in privatization transactions, IPOs, trade sales, and PPP tenders,” Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in announcing the partnership. Local construction…
Author: Tamer Hafez
Egypt’s real estate and construction sectors have become primary drivers of GDP growth. In June, Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir said real estate now accounts for “more than 20% of GDP,” up from 16% in 2020. According to government data, real estate and construction contributed more to GDP than manufacturing (16%), wholesale and retail (14%), and agriculture (11%) by the end of fiscal year 2022/2023. Most state and private developers target Egypt’s wealthiest market segments. According to the Property Report 2021, published by property consultants Savills Egypt, “Development of … large mixed-use developments [led] to a strong increase in…
This article first appeared in the June 2023 print edition of Business Monthly. Integrating Egypt’s thriving tourism and hospitality sector with artificial intelligence (AI) is part of the government’s long-term strategy to improve tourists’ experience. “The application of [AI] in the Egyptian tourism and hospitality sector is in line with … Egypt’s Vision 2030,” said a 2022 research paper from the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels at Helwan University. The integration should be seamless. The “tourism and hospitality industry [in general] is considered one of the first industries to adopt new technologies, such as robotics and AI,” the paper said.…
This article was first published in June’s print edition of Business Monthly. Egypt’s tourism sector is on fire. Government data shows foreign visits reached an all-time high of over 14.9 million last year, adding 3.62 million visitors from a year earlier (27.7% growth). The government needs to maintain the sector’s annual growth between 25% and 30% for five years to achieve its goal of doubling the number of arrivals to 30 million annually by 2028. That would require a lot of investment. According to the State Information Service (SIS), as of September, Egypt has 216,000 hotel rooms “capable of accommodating…
This article first appeared in June’s print edition of Business Monthly. With about 5,000 years of recorded history and more than 2,900 kilometers of shorelines along two seas, tourists coming to Egypt are spoiled with choices. In November, Tourism Minister Ahmed Eissa said the sector grew “eight times higher” than the global tourism rate through October,” reported state-owned Egypt Today. That high growth rate is vital for government plans to double the number of tourist arrivals to 30 million annually over the next four years. To sustain the sector’s long-term positive growth prospects, the government and tourist service providers need…
This article was first published in May’s print edition of Business Monthly. For most Egyptian families, if they could afford to pay for private tutoring (shadow education) alongside their kids’ formal education, the decision would be a no-brainer. Those classes are almost always with their kids’ “regular schoolteachers,” the Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE) said in its 2023-2027 strategy. Hassan Shehata, dean of curriculums at the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams University, told Al Masry Al Youm in November, “There is now no difference between students in public or private language schools. They all take private tutoring.”…
This article first appeared in May’s issue of Business Monthly. Despite the advent of computers and the internet in classrooms, most see that current education systems are lagging, especially in emerging markets. “It is striking to reflect on how little education has changed in recent decades,” The Economist said in January. “Laptops and interactive whiteboards hardly constitute disruption.” That stands in stark contrast to how much younger generations embrace technology. “Many parents bewildered by how their children shop or socialize would be unruffled by how they are taught,” the Economist said. “The sector remains a digital laggard.” Accordingly, it is…
This article first appeared in the May 2024 issue of Business Monthly. In today’s increasingly complicated, uncertain and intertwining world, high-quality elementary and secondary education is vital. “In addition to preparing students for the workforce, education systems are increasingly being asked to participate in resolving broader societal issues,” said a McKinsey & Company report in February. Those issues include mental health challenges among young people, political polarization and climate change. Despite their importance, education systems worldwide are noticeably deteriorating. “Student learning improvements are not keeping up with these demands,” the McKinsey report said. “More children than ever are in school,…
This article first appeared in May’s print edition of Business Monthly. Since mid-2023, the U.S. Federal Reserve has kept inflation rates below 4%, down from an all-time high of 9.1% in June 2022, by raising its benchmark interest rate from 0.25% in March 2022 to 5.5% since August. “The [Fed] has done an excellent job bringing down inflation,” Forbes Advisor Wayne Duggan said in a January op-ed. However, the Fed faces a new dilemma in 2024 and beyond. Should it raise the interest rate to force inflation closer to the Fed’s 2% target, risking stagnation or even recession, where GDP…
This article first appeared in May’s print edition of Business Monthly. One of the long-standing differentiators between developed and developing nations is the quality and accessibility of their education systems. To bridge that gap, the Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE) published a five-year pre-university education reform plan called the Education Sector Plan (ESP) 2023-2027. Its implementation started in the academic year 2023/2024. The plan seeks to “transform the Egyptian education system to ensure universal access to high-quality education and training, foundational learning for all, and skills for a sustainable future.” Its mandate covers “kindergarten to Grade 12.”…