“Should I invest in my business or put the money in a savings account?” That was the question for 55-year-old Raafat Mahgoub, who owned a company that manufactured plastic bags. The answer was a no-brainer. “I saw interest rates climb from 9.25 percent at the start of 2016 to 11 percent a year later. My profit margins were about 10 percent,” he says. “Once I realized it was more profitable to put my money in the bank, I sold the business. Now I live off the returns.” Mahgoub does not regret his decision despite interest rates declining from an all-time…
Author: Tamer Hafez
Since getting married in 2017, Samy Abdallah, a 36-year-old bank teller, hunted for a new home. “Prices seemed to spike overnight in line with pound’s depreciation,” he says. Abdallah rents a 120-square-meter (1,291-square-foot) flat in Manial that eats up more than half his salary. “I worry we will never find an affordable home,” he says, reflecting a widespread sentiment. “Before the devaluation, I never had a buyer and seller I couldn’t match,” says Mahmoud Samir, a Maadi real estate broker with 20 years of experience. “Now, it is common.” Hoping to expand the supply of properties, the Ministry of Housing…
A white paper by Fitch Group noted that Egyptian fintechs could succeed in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Lebanon. What challenges and opportunities could they face? Not so long ago, a mobile phone was just that: a device that made its users reachable anytime, anywhere. Today, it is more of a personal assistant that helps with everything from paying bills to entertainment. MENA governments, however, have been talking about making residents use smartphones to pay for everything from public services to impulse purchases. So far, the results have been underwhelming. “In our region, what I have noticed so far is that…
With imports accounting for 70 percent of Egypt’s trade, the country relies on dollars. Those greenbacks are increasingly being borrowed from international markets because foreign direct investment declined by 23.5 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2018/2019 compared to the previous year. Based on Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) data, dollar-denominated debt represented 14.4 percent of GDP in 2015; the figure reached 37 percent by 2018. Accordingly, news reports of a global shortage of American currency should worry Egypt’s private sector, government and the CBE. A Reuters story published in mid-November, reported that there is only $3.2 trillion in circulation worldwide. That compares to…
Over the decades, venture capitalists and other investors have eyed, with great interest, Americans who start businesses in their parents’ garages. They are looking for the next big idea—the next Microsoft, Google, Amazon, or Apple, to name a few. Currently, the United States ranks as the third friendliest country for entrepreneurs, according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018 published by the World Economic Forum. “Glaring American weaknesses, such as fraying infrastructure and fractured politics, are outweighed in the WEF analysis by the country’s strengths in areas like business sophistication and technological readiness,” reported the Economist in September 2017. “And aside from market size, the…
With the world’s biggest and third-biggest deserts making up nearly 90 percent of its area, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is the “most water-scarce region in the world,” according to a report by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). The number of people living in threatened areas accounts for nearly twice the global average of 35 percent. Despite such grim figures, most Arab governments “continue to incentivize high levels of water use” through low prices, the report says. Nations with conservation policies tackle the issue in different ways, making it more complicated for those that don’t. “Diversity…
Followers of Rania Al-Mashat on social media typically are inundated with new posts every few hours encouraging foreigners to visit Egypt. The World Travel and Tourism Council recognized that outreach by honoring the tourism minister with its Global Champion Award 2019. “This annual award is usually granted in appreciation of the efforts exerted by some countries facing challenges,” according to a WTTC statement. “This is the first time […] for a country or a minister in the Middle East to be granted such an award.” In September, the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index saw Egypt’s ranking jump…