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How ASDC is transforming Somabay to a first-home destination: When Somabay first emerged as a tourist destination over two decades ago, it had little to offer other than its gorgeous 11-km coastline with a five-and-a-half km sandy beach. Fast forward to today and developer Abu Soma Touristic Development Company (ASDC) has made Somabay a home to a wide selection of luxury hotels and residential properties that exude a certain lifestyle.  

Enterprise sat down with Ibrahim El Messiri, the CEO of ASDC — the master developers of Somabay — who talks us through his strategy to make Somabay a first-home destination where people and families can live, work, study, and enjoy themselves. For El Messiri, this meant finding the right target market and creating the right identity and lifestyle for Somabay. 

El Messiri is no stranger to creating communities and developing cities, having worked with the likes of Bechtel for 15 years and Madinet Nasr Housing for three. His career saw him work on projects such as the Doha International Airport, the Channel Tunnel in the UK, and Abu Dhabi Port. 

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In this episode of The Enterprise Podcast, our What’s Next editor Gehad Hussein hosts a roundtable discussion with several AI players in Egypt. Our private sector guests gathered for an in-depth conversation on the status of the sector in Egypt and how companies can get started with their AI activities. The bottom line is to have the right talent and tools in place, while being very mindful of what data is being collected. And most importantly: start out with a pilot project, before going into massive AI mode. 

 

Our guests are: 
Ahmed Abaza, the founder and CEO of Synapse Analytics, which advises other companies on how best to infuse AI into their businesses. Synapse helps enterprises develop, build, manage and scale AI solutions to optimize operations and grow more sustainably. 
Ahmed Roshdy, the analytics and data science lead at Vodafone Egypt. He runs the 18-person strong department that’s been focusing on integrating AI into the company’s operations. Projects he’s led include an AI platform that recommends different services and packages to users. So far, over 11 mn customers have benefited from that engine.
Mohamed Soliman, the data, AI, automation and security leader at IBM Egypt. IBM has been at the forefront of AI adoption and development globally, and Mohamed will give us some insight on what the company has been up to in Egypt. These include helping the Supply Ministry with implementing AI applications at Egypt’s grain silos. 

 

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In this episode of The Enterprise Podcast, Patrick continues his roundtable discussion with major fintech players in Egypt. This week, our private sector guests stuck around for an in-depth conversation on where the sector goes from here in terms of funding and consolidation — at home and abroad. The general consensus appears to be that while valuations in Egypt are still primed to go up, growth is expected to slow down in light of the current macro climate and historic pitfalls like the brain drain. The solution: More integration with Africa. 

But first, a refresher on our guests: 
Karim Nour, the co-founder of Kashat — the first nano-finance company in MENA providing financial services to the un- and under-banked. 
Omar Saleh, the CEO and co-founder of Khazna, which now offers general purpose credit; buy now, pay later (BNPL); and bill payment services.
Aly El Shalakany, a corporate lawyer and longtime angel investor turned venture capitalist who is now the CEO of the Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund and an investor in Kashat. 
Ashley Lewis is a partner focused on Africa with Accion Venture Lab and has been investing in financial services and social ventures across sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia for over a decade. Lewis was one of the first investors at Khazna. 

** Subscribe to Making it, our interview show where we talk to CEOs and business leaders in Egypt on how to build a great business.  https://bit.ly/35lugvb.


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In this episode of The Enterprise Podcast, Patrick hosts a roundtable discussion with major players in the sector to discuss what’s next for fintech. Our entrepreneurs and investors take us through the untapped potential of fintech and which industries in Egypt are most primed for change through fintech. We also get rare insights from the central bank on what regulators are working on to help expand and propel Egypt’s fintech sector to the next stage of its development, including a new law to regulate crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending. 

Our guests are: 
Karim Nour, the co-founder of Kashat — the first nano-finance company in MENA providing financial services to the un- and under-banked. Karim is also the non-executive chairman of Tarek Nour Communications Group.
Omar Saleh, the CEO and co-founder of Khazna. Omar joined us the same day his company announced a blockbuster USD 38 mn Series A round. 
Aly El Shalakany, a corporate lawyer and longtime angel investor turned venture capitalist who is now the CEO of the Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund.
Ashley Lewis, a partner focused on Africa with Accion Venture Lab and has been investing in financial services and social ventures across sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia for over a decade. El Shalakany is an investor in Kashat while Lewis was one of the first investors at Khazna. 
Dr. Rasha Negm. Rasha is an assistant sub-governor of the CBE where she’s the head of fintech and innovation. Rasha is not a newcomer to fintech. A veteran of the banking industry, she led product strategy for Vodafone Cash before joining the CBE.

 

** Subscribe to Making it, our interview show where we talk to CEOs and business leaders in Egypt on how to build a great business.  https://bit.ly/35lugvb.

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In our pilot episode, we sit down with International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat to discuss a variety of different topics including her personal philosophy on economic reform, and her career trajectory from the youngest intern at the IMF to her public service at the Egyptian Central Bank, the Ministry of Tourism and her current role at the MOIC.

Al Mashat outlines the economic diplomacy responsibilities of her ministry, which coordinates bilateral, multilateral and multi stakeholder development partnerships on both public and private sector projects as part of a larger goal - implementing and financing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed upon by UN members by 2030. 

Al Mashat pushes the Global Partnership Narrative, which aims to create mass awareness on the impact of achieving the SDGs by presenting it through a lens with people at the core, projects in action, and purpose as the driver. We discuss how Covid-19 has impacted Egypt’s 2030 vision, and the subsequent fast-track of projects seen as crucial in mitigating the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic.


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After Hours is a working title. We welcome your suggestions for the title of the show and any suggestions for guests and topics at editorial@enterprise.press

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The Enterprise Show is an Egypt-focused business, policy and pop culture talk show, produced by Enterprise, the daily brief on all matters business, finance, and economics. Each episode will see us sit down with interesting and impactful business leaders, policy-makers, and cultural icons to discuss their life's successes, failures, and their views on major topics that shape Egypt today

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