Who will change Egypt? Will it be the National Democratic Party (NDP), which has been ruling the country for more than three decades and controls everything, or the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest political group in Egypt, which suffers intellectually and politically?
The fact is, it will be neither this nor that. Egypt will be changed through its youth and the new generations that will reach political maturity in the coming five years.
Egypt needs what can be called a “critical mass” — a human bloc that can change the balance of power and alter the political equation once it attains a certain degree of awareness and has a genuine desire to change. In the following lines I will explain where this critical mass will emanate from and how it will be formed.
Most of the economic policies undertaken by the new elite inside the NDP aim to liberalize the Egyptian economy and to engage in an era of market economy through privatization of public sector companies and the restructuring of many economic sectors with a view to making a historic disengagement between the state and society — ending a bond that has been in place for over five thousand years, considering that ancient Egypt was a centralized state.
The current privatization processes will lead to a series of social changes during the next ten years, which will result in shifts in the social stratification and relative weight of the various social blocs, making the middle classes more influential.
All demographic indicators point to the fact that nearly two thirds of Egypt’s population, that is more than 50 million people, will be between 20 and 30 years old in the next five years.
This means that we are waiting for a kind of a “time bomb” of youth who will be in dire need of raising education and living standards to be able to stay abreast of internal and external economic and social changes.
So we will face a process of historic cohesion and blending between a new generation whose value system is characterized by a desire to live in dignity and freedom. They will be affected by the general atmosphere both at home and abroad and the information revolution, leading to a new generation with high expectations about the future – known in socio-psychology as a “revolution of expectations”. This generation will be the backbone of the new social movement.
At this point, I cannot rule out absolutely that this “critical mass” will have political demands on a par with the economic demands they will seek to satisfy by all possible means. At the same time, the current economic policies will lead to the formation of a bourgeoisie with new economic and political demands. This class serves as an engine of change in Egypt, along the lines of what happened in all democratization examples in East Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
This change will definitely not happen all of a sudden. It will be a “process” that will take time, ranging from five to ten years at least.
There are other conditions that must be in place in order for this “critical mass” to mature and have enough leverage to pressure the political regime, which will try to contain it. Perhaps the most important of these conditions is the existence of a genuine civil society that can raise the level of public awareness of a large segment of Egyptian youth, as well as the presence of political movements (parties, unions and groups) that can provide a legal framework for this bloc, so that they can move and exert concerted, legal pressure on the ruling regime.
The problem to be confronted by the next political regime in Egypt will not be how to come to power, but rather how to run the country in light of the existence of this “critical mass” and respond effectively to their demands. This is the real challenge.
Khalil Al-Ananiis an expert on Political Islam and Deputy Editor of Al Siyassa Al Dawliya journal published by Al-Ahram Foundation.
Ismail Serageldin, director of the Library of Alexandria, gave a lecture, titled “Youth and the Private Sector: Do Business Leaders Have a Responsibility to Provide a Better Future for Youth?” was hosted by the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo (AUC) on March 24.
“The Arab world must create 100 million job opportunities within 20 years to absorb the number of youth that is coming in,” said Serageldin, who chose to change the title of the lecture to, “Young Entrepreneurs Will Build Modern Egypt,” in order to make a statement that is optimistic in contrast to the above statistic.
Serageldin began by addressing the third global evolution, the knowledge revolution, which he said is “moving us away from the muscle to the brain,” with all the new technology that is developing and “expanding our brain’s reach beyond anything our parents could’ve anticipated.”
He continued by giving an example of how Arab youth remain on the receiving end of that new technology. Companies have “Islamicized,” the mobile phone by having Quran verses on it or the prayer call as a ring tone, instead, he added, we should truly “Islamicize” the mobile phone by having the Muslim community be its producers rather than its consumers.
“It is a waste of talent, being unable to accommodate the young people and have them fulfill their dreams,” said Serageldin, adding that he believes the answer to youth unemployment is the encouragement of entrepreneurship and having faith in the creativity of young people.
Aside from being the director of the Library of Alexandria, Serageldin is also a member and chair of advisory committees for several academic, scientific and international institutions such as Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Institut d’Egypte and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP). He was also the vice president for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development at the World Bank, and has published over 50 books and monographs.
Serageldin illustrated some of the challenges that prevent Egyptian youth from reaching their potential. He stressed, however, that money is the least of these problems since channeling that money in the right direction is what truly matters.
One of the main challenges impeding Egyptian youth, according to Serageldin, is education. He said that science and math need to be emphasized, along with upgrading skill education. But most importantly, he said, schools and institutions should teach people how to learn, explaining that there are three types of education; self learning, guided learning and instruction.
“The overwhelming majority of learning in Egypt is instruction,” he said, “we must encourage the students to ask ‘what if’ and to challenge themselves.”
Other challenges include education related policies, the interface between the public and the private sector and the decline in the quality of institutions in Egypt.
“We can make a difference by focusing on youth, thereby we’ll be working together to put Egypt on top of the world,” said Serageldin.
Daily News Egypt
In a nation where entrepreneurship is increasingly recognized as key to economic advancement, starting your own business is about as acceptable and mainstream as it gets — unless you are part of the 48% of society who happen to be female.
In that case, the announcement that you intend to go it alone and become an entrepreneur will often be met with raised eyebrows or condescending encouragement.
The 2007 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that women make up only 22% of non-agricultural paid labor in the country. When women do work, their salaries are sub-par: Men earn four times as much annually — $6,817 per year as opposed to the recorded female average of $1,588. Women still struggle to advance within their fields, according to the report’s findings.
There aren’t many high-level government role models, either. The WEF reported that women’s representation in Parliament is nearly non-existent, and only 6% of senior officials are female.
Despite ranking 120 out of 128 countries surveyed, there is hope; the booming economy and government’s easing of regulations for starting businesses means females with an entrepreneurial spirit are taking action. Numerous studies have found that reducing inequality enhances economic growth, meaning the more that women are educated, empowered and employed, the better off Egypt will be.
For three young female entrepreneurs, the challenges and prejudices they faced in opening their own businesses were outweighed by the rewards: financial independence, personal satisfaction and a demonstration of the power and potential of passionate young women in a changing society.
The Right Chemistry Sara Talaat has managed to build a successful pharmacy in the busy Heliopolis district of Ard El-Golf, and credits her success to a combination of passion and commitment.
“I love this field, and I’ve always loved chemistry,” she says. “I believe that to establish a successful pharmacy business, you need to have a strong base of knowledge and the desire to succeed.”
Talaat’s family encouraged her entrepreneurial spirit, and her father was happy to match it with financial help. During her studies at university, Talaat was able to focus on developing her skills, knowing she would have the financial support she needed to start her own business.
“During college, I worked in pharmaceutical companies on vacation periods, but I eventually decided to pursue a career in pharmacies,” she explains. “After my graduation, I worked in the Ali and Ali pharmacy for four years, until I became the sales manager. Additionally, I worked in the Child Care Hospital of Abbasiya, which put me in contact with a very different social class — that is really what diversified my experience.”
Talaat found the right location for her business in an old, rundown pharmacy, which she managed to turn into a successful venture — in part by making it a pleasant shopping experience for her customers.
She studied the area around the pharmacy and built relations with local physicians, the two medical centers, as well as her neighbors. Pushing for a strong start, Talaat held a big opening ceremony and invited all of these people, offering a 20% discount on all products that day.
“Medicine. The priority is for the medicine, and this means all kinds — local as well as imported medicine and [medicine given with] chemotherapy treatments. I wanted all types of cosmetics to be available, but I also wanted customers to enjoy shopping.”
She develops that rapport through quality service, solid relationships and healthy dose of natural sociability.
Plenty of obstacles stood in Talaat’s way, chief among them the fact that she was a 25-year-old woman. “It was not easy, as a young female, to make pharmaceutical companies trust me, in addition to some routine problems with the municipality.”
Apart from the business challenges, there is also the social pressure, particularly with family and cultural expectations of marriage. Can a woman successful in business be lucky in love, or will men find it hard to accept a wife who is as good or a better breadwinner than himself? Sidestepping the question, Talaat defers to fate when it comes to issues like marriage, believing that the perfect man will love her regardless of success and money.
For the future, Talaat wants to expand her business into a big chain of pharmacies and establish her own pharmaceutical company — all under her management.
Growing at a Good ClipThe coiffeur known simply as Naema believes that ‘unemployment’ is not at issue: “Who wants to work will do so; youth claim that they do not find work, but actually they do not want to find work.”
At the age of 22, after three years working in other people’s beauty salons, Naema opened her own coiffeur with less than LE 10,000 — all from her own savings.
“At first, when I was 19, I worked for others just to gain experience. I used to sweep the floor, make coffee, and do the supplementary work, but opening my coiffeur under my management was the major objective.”
Naema’s family didn’t welcome the idea of using her entire savings to open a business; they thought she should avoid the risk and enjoy the comfort of a steady job. “They did not want me to fail,” she recalls. “It’s not only about the money, but failure.”
For marketing, Naema did nothing. As a service provider, she relied instead on word of mouth; if she was good, people would refer her to their friends and those friends would refer her to others and her salon would blossom into a known and reputable business.
Naema is married to Ayman, also a hairdresser; they have two children, Mustafa and Yusuf. The couple has a nanny who minds the children at the shop, so they can be near Naema.
“This is hard, it’s really hard. When I opened the coiffeur I was keen to make it a perfect place. Similarly, when I got married I took care of my house to make it also perfect. I believed that if work came at the expense of home or vice versa, I [wouldn’t] be able to proceed in both. This is the problem for every woman.”
One thing that she doesn’t find hard is working in the same profession as her husband. “I’ve never felt that someone competes [with] me in my work, therefore I don’t feel that Ayman is my competitor. We are at the same level of success, and I am actually used to not comparing myself with anyone else; I just focus on what I’m doing.”
When you taste success, you want more, and Naema is anticipating expansion for her business in the future. She is looking forward to transforming the coiffeur into a beauty center, adding more services like a spa, comprehensive skin care services and a Moroccan bath.
Naema believes she succeeded at such a young age because of her passion for her business. “With our job, if you love it, it will love you and give you awesome results,” she explains. “People trust me because I have confidence in myself, and that’s what builds my good reputation.”
Shaking ‘n Shaping a Market NicheNoha Hassan had been working as a business developer for one of the biggest telecom companies in Egypt, but she was never able to leave behind her interest in aerobics and fitness. Finally, she decided to open her own studio in December 2006. The first of its kind, the Shake ’n Shape studio offers fitness and dancing exclusively for women.
“I’ve always loved sports. I stayed in fitness, playing just as a hobby until I opened this place.”
Hassan used to be a regular customer at many of Egypt’s gyms until mixed gyms didn’t suit her needs anymore.
“When I put the veil on seven years ago, it was very uncomfortable to exercise in a mixed place. I felt that it’s my right to enjoy my hobby, but I did not find a nice place with a quality service — and I mean by ‘quality service’ to have the best trainers, not a luxurious place or real estate [large, expensive] equipment.”
The main challenge Hassan encountered when she entered the business was headhunting the best trainers, an obstacle she still faces today, “because we don’t have professional universities or institutes that teach fitness in Egypt, good trainers are not easily found.”
“First of all, I tried to minimize the risk as much as I could by calculating everything. I come from a business background, so I used all my marketing experience to study my business. I believed that you live life once, and it is worth it to give this a try; even if I fail I will never regret that I’ve tried it. I did not want to live and die and feel that I could have made something and it could have grown big, but my fear prevented me.”
Hassan believes that the culture actually aids female entrepreneurs: Women will never be asked to save their money to pay for marriage—a duty traditionally allocated to men. This, she reasons, should be an encouraging factor when women think about investing.
That said, Hassan’s family had mixed reactions to her decision: While her mother was supportive and encouraging, her brother was always sarcastic and belittling to her.
Hassan developed the project while still working in telecom. Looking back, she says that she has no idea how she managed to do both. “It was extremely hard, especially in that my job was very demanding. I used to finish at six, head to the studio and return home at 11, so it was crazy. I did not have any personal or social life. I was not enjoying my success or having fun because I was too tired to do so.
“Even when I attended [the studio’s aerobics] classes — which are a lot of fun, you want to give the people energy, and enjoy and share it with them — I was out of energy. My mind was always busy with payments, salaries and installments.”
Recently, Hassan decided to take another risk and leave her old job, although her business is in a position where it still requires investment in order to grow.
“I realized that I can not manage a place without knowing how it is going professionally, so I decided to study fitness.”
Noha hopes to move to a bigger location, and perhaps add a sauna and jacuzzi so members will stay longer to pamper themselves after their workouts.
But these entrepreneurs have no easy battle ahead of them; while the World Bank’s Doing Business report for 2008 named Egypt as its top reformer for the year (see “We’re Number One,” in the November 2007 issue), benefits for women, who work predominately in the informal sector, remain limited. As the red tape surrounding opening a business is cut, it has become easier to obtain licenses and employ workers, meaning many more women may soon find themselves in a position to join Hassan, Naema and Talaat as business owners.
Business Today Egypt
The Canadian Ambassador to Egypt Philip MacKinnon in an interview for Business Today Egypt, spoke about the current situation in Egypt, the Canadian foreign policy and most importantly the growth sectors and the obstacles to growth and how to overcome them.
Here's a part of the interview, for the full article
http://www.businesstodayegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=7921
You mentioned earlier that South Korea had a “tremendous impact” on you. How so?In the 1950s, every left-wing economist said it was the poorest country in the world and would remain the poorest country in the world. Then you see what’s happened.
Like every idealistic foreign service officer, I wanted to find the secret of why South Korea was doing so well when I got there. I thought there were two reasons, one of which is shared by Egypt, and that’s the simple fact that people are willing to make virtually any sacrifice to get their children educated. The other was hope and confidence in the future. They believed that their own lives could improve, and that the lives of their children would be qualitatively and quantitatively — even unrecognizably —better.
That kind of widespread hope and confidence doesn’t exist here, not yet. I hope it will, but it’s not an easy thing to generate.
The benefits of the Nazif government’s economic reforms haven’t “trickled down” to the man on the street yet, have they? Nor has the hope.But hopefully they will. As you know far better than I do, the economic indicators today are quite positive. You’ve got a better group of economic ministers than you’ve had at any time in the last 50 years. I think Dr. Nazif, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Maghrabi, Mohieldin, Mansour, Boutros-Ghali and people like that are great people who are trying to get something done.
What they need to complement their vision and their achievements is somebody who is a real politician. Somebody who can connect with the people, who can sell the people on these very necessary reforms.
What are the growth sectors going forward?Education, for certain — perhaps we can come back to that in a moment. I would hope agriculture would be another one. Egyptian growers are very aware that far from the public perception, agriculture is not a low-tech venture. You don’t just toss down some wheat, thresh the top off and send it somewhere — the degree of work done on seeds, yields, etc, is extremely advanced. I would like to get canola, which is a crop that can be grown in winter and in places like Toshka, more into Egypt. And it’s an edible oil — Egypt imports millions in edible oils — and its health benefits are on par with olive oil.
Going forward, Egypt will be paying more and more attention to high-tech agriculture. I always make a point of telling Canadian businesses, “What you have to understand about Egypt is that there are 78 million people, and the cultivatable area and the liveable area is the size of Denmark.” Seventy-eight million people. Forget about self-sufficiency and focus on strategic priorities. If this is done, then expansion of agriculture to include more and more advanced methods will be important.
And it’s not just Canada selling agricultural technology to Egypt. There are so many things that we source from Mexico, for example, that we could be sourcing from here, particularly as we work through customs, transportation and sanitation issues.
One of the biggest obstacles to growth, though, will be the mismatch between labor supply and the market’s demands, particularly as more and more communications and IT companies come in. There’s a large, educated workforce here, but skills need to be upgraded. That’s why you hear about business people having problems getting the employees they need in a country with 10% unemployment.
Is the workforce educated or educable? Both. They’ve gone through the education system and as graduates they’re ready to take on additional training. It’s not a problem with the graduate, but with a system that puts 70,000 people into a single faculty of business administration at Cairo University. The biggest university in Canada is the University of Toronto with 70,000 students!
Is Canadian immigration policy changing?
No. If you look at opinion polls in Western countries since 9/11, there is probably only one country where a huge majority of the population agrees with the proposition that immigrants make a positive contribution to the society —and that is Canada. A large majority.
We’ve had two federal elections in Canada in the last four years, and immigration policy has not been an issue in either of them —not for a moment. The only time it has come up has been people asking how we can do more to make it possible for immigrants to have their foreign academic and professional credentials recognized in Canada.
How many Egyptian-Canadians — or Canadian-Egyptians — are there today?It’s hard to count, but there are probably 250,000 Egyptian-Canadians. That’s a large diaspora in a nation of just 33 million people. And Egyptians, like the 250,000 or so Iranian-Canadians, do extremely well in Canada.
Daily News- Egypt
At least 10,000 employees of Egypt's biggest textile factory protested against price hikes on Monday, demanding a sharp rise in the minimum wage nationwide in the first such protest in decades.
Thousands of textile workers gathered at the Ghazl Al-Mahalla factory north of Cairo shouting slogans to protest against the rise in the price of basic commodities, a security source told AFP.
The workers are demanding that the minimum wage be raised to LE 1,200 ($218) a month for workers around the country.
“This is the first time there’s a big workers’ demonstration for national demands,” said Sameh Naguib, a sociologist at the American University in Cairo. “This hasn't happened for decades.”
The demonstration at Mahalla, which has seen a string of strikes in recent years, came as the government’s National Council for Wages met to discuss raising the minimum wage from the current LE 105.
It is the latest in a spate of industrial actions in the country.
Egyptian civil servants working for the Real Estate Tax office held a sit-in in December demanding a raise in their monthly average from LE 300 to LE 1,500.
In September, at least 24,000 workers at the Mahalla factory went on strike over unpaid profit shares and low wages.
The government subsequently agreed to their demands and similar strikes were held in other factories.
“Maybe it's because of this year of strikes, there's a lot of pressure [on the government] to come up with a statement or a plan of action,” said Naguib. “Under this pressure they have to do something serious.”
I was impressed when I saw the TV commercial, since unemployment is one of
the most pressing economic and social issue in Egypt. After reading this article and hearing the public's reactions from a ministry representative towards such ads made me re-think the situation and more eager to get the National Action Plan on Youth Employment approved by MoMM and the Prime Minister as it might help in solving this issue.
Daily News Egypt
Job hotline only to raise awareness, says ministry spokesmanBy Yasmine Saleh First Published: September 17, 2007CAIRO: Youth looking desperately for jobs found new hope in a series of ads encouraging college graduates to join jobs usually considered to be beneath them.
The ads don’t just offer advice but provide viewers with a phone number, 16456, to call and ask about job openings.
Daily News Egypt tried to call the number several times, but there was no answer.
The media campaign, which was launched this Ramadan by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, is merely an awareness raising campaign, Yehia Mahmoud, media consultant at the ministry told Daily News Egypt.
The ads show a young man at a coffee shop, whiling away the hours by playing backgammon. He refuses to apply for a job at a factory, waiting for the government to provide him with employment commensurate with his university education.
A speaker (representing the government) talks to the unemployed young man about how important it is for him to work and to be a productive member of society, saying that the government is unable to provide jobs for “six million unemployed citizens.” The government instead, the narrator continues, has helped the private sector to blossom and open factories that need workers.
The narrator then urges the young man to apply for a job through the hotline.
While these ads are only part of an awareness campaign, Mahmoud noted, the ministry is currently working on other projects to create job opportunities for the youth.
Both the ministry and the Social Fund for Development recently launched a new system to enhance the quality of subsidized bread and its distribution services. The ministry asked Al-Masriyeen Distribution company to employ youngsters to deliver the government’s subsidized bread.
“Young men will also be employed to work on the new covered carts that will transport the bread in most places and so the bread will be available to citizens everywhere,” said Mahmoud.
The salaries will be around LE 300 a month, he said.
The new delivery service and distribution points aim to make it more convenient for citizens to buy bread, instead of waiting for hours queuing at bakeries.
The project has already started operating in Cairo, Giza and Al-Beheira governorates and is expected to launch nationwide soon, according to Mahmoud.
Besides delivering bread to homes, the project will also hire people to deliver butane gas containers to homes, said Mahmoud.
“There is a flat fee of LE 5 for any delivery,” Mahmoud added.
According to Mahmoud, any citizen who wishes to work in the new project can directly apply at the ministry if he lives in Cairo or Giza or they can go to the local governorate offices in other cities.
