The top economic priority for the United States under President Donald Trump has been to reduce imports, increase exports, and create jobs. “By prioritizing American workers, manufacturers, and energy producers, the administration is strengthening the nation’s economic foundation and reducing reliance on foreign supply chains,” said a White House blurb. “These policies are driving sustained growth, expanding opportunity, and ensuring the American economy remains strong, competitive, and resilient for years to come.” Yet not all of these new directives are working as intended. Domestically, Trump’s agricultural plans are conflicting: give farmers tax and customs exemptions, but then limit their ability to secure less expensive…
Author: Tamer Hafez
For graduates with little to no work experience, no sponsors, and no entrepreneurial tendencies, securing a first job often depends on the social skills and technical know-how developed during their school and university years. That can be a problem, as there is often a significant gap between what students learn and what companies need. “Egypt’s youth unemployment [is] high at about 18% to 19%,” Nora Abou El Seoud, CEO of the Education for Employment Foundation, said at AmCham Egypt’s education investment conference in May. Reforming Egypt’s education system “is not just about addressing a future challenge; it is a current reality…
UNESCO is adamant that “education is a fundamental human right,” explaining that it “empowers individuals, strengthens communities and fosters inclusive societies.” It “enables individuals to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to participate fully in society.” This translates into noticeable improvements in living standards and quality of life, especially for those born in underprivileged societies. “Education is one of the most powerful tools for lifting excluded children and adults out of poverty,” noted UNESCO. It also is “a cornerstone of peace, justice and resilience in the face of today’s most pressing global challenges.” In “lower-middle-income” countries like Egypt (per…
Digital transformation, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), and the growing reliance of individuals and corporations on cloud-based services are defining this era of human history. “Gen Z [born from 1995 to 2010] are true digital natives,” McKinsey said in a note. “From earliest youth, they have been exposed to the internet, to social networks, and to mobile systems.” Coping with this global transformation requires more and increasingly sophisticated physical facilities to store and process data for reuse in other applications. “Data centers are becoming the backbone of the digital economy, supporting everything from AI workloads to real-time analytics…
In October, Goldman Sachs forecast that Egypt’s economy would become one of the 10 largest in the world by 2075, reaching $10.4 trillion. By the end of 2025, Egypt ranked 38th globally, with a near-$400 billion economy. To achieve this forecast, the government needs to prepare tomorrow’s workforce for whatever comes next, whether it’s emerging technologies, shifting work trends, or unforeseen developments. That starts with accelerating fundamental reforms to Egypt’s education system. Such changes should reflect Gen Alpha’s (aged 1 to 15 in 2025) rapidly changing, technology-dominated reality. In May, AmCham Egypt’s first Education Conference highlighted the Ministry of Education’s…
Ongoing volatility in the GCC region has prompted companies in those markets to scale back and seek more stable nearby destinations. Egypt’s Red Sea region isn’t their only option. One reality governments must deal with is “investors don’t like uncertainty,” said the late Kenneth Lay, founder, CEO and chairman of Enron, a major global energy company. The war in Iran is perhaps the biggest regional wake-up call for businesses in the GCC. Almost two weeks into the war, Oxford Economics downgraded its GCC GDP growth forecast for this calendar year from 4.4% to 2.6% “due to lower production, exports, tourism…
Egypt aims to increase food exports to GCC nations. For this to happen, the government needs to expand its seaports, logistics, and road network to reach Gulf markets. For Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, Iran’s decision to selectively block freight from crossing the Strait of Hormuz is not only hurting their oil exports but, more importantly, food imports. The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates “the GCC imports 85% of its food.” Neil Quilliam, associate fellow at Chatham House think tank, noted “over 70% of [these] GCC foodstuffs [are] imported through the Strait of Hormuz.” Meanwhile, Transport…
The Red Sea, Eastern Desert, and Sinai are attractive yet underutilized investment destinations. Protecting their ecosystems is essential to their continued appeal. In a nutshell, the Egypt Vision 2030 strategy, launched in 2015, aims to “balance and diversify” the country’s economy, promote “innovation and knowledge,” ensure social justice, and protect the environment. The Red Sea coastline, Sinai, and Eastern Desert are crucial to realizing this strategy. However, the government needs to be careful about which investments it attracts, as these regions are environmentally sensitive. According to the UNDP, “the Red Sea hosts more than 1,000 species of fish and…
In his book “Outliers: The Story of Success,” Malcolm Gladwell points out that people who achieve remarkable accomplishments “follow a particular and unexpected logic.” One story that continues to inspire is of a “brilliant immigrant kid who overcomes poverty and the depression, can’t get a job at the stuffy downtown law firms, and makes it on his own through sheer hustle and ability,” Malcolm Gladwell says in “Outliers: The Story of Success.” “Successful people don’t do it alone. Where they come from matters. They’re products of particular places and environments,” the book says. “We do owe something to…
For decades, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been a major investment hub for companies seeking access to Asia, Europe, and Africa. “The smart money is going into the GCC,” Mohamed Yakout, senior analyst at Scope Markets, a trading solutions provider, said in November. “The Gulf is becoming one of the world’s most compelling investment theaters.” However, the ongoing Middle East conflict that began in February is changing that perception, especially after Iran blocked nearly all freight through the Hormuz Strait, which handles 20% of the world’s oil exports and most of the GCC’s imports, including food and water. One…