KCC- P&G StandOut Commercial Challenge Returns for Another Year
From April 19 to May 5, 2026, the KCC-P&G StandOut Commercial Challenge (StandOut) returned for its 12th edition, bringing students from more than 15 universities across Egypt to The American University in Cairo, for an immersive experience of real-life business challenges. Out of 52 competing teams, three emerged as the judges’ top-ranked teams and all three top spots were proudly claimed by our own AUC student teams: Fantastic Five in first place, followed by Brand Builders in second, and Buzz Builders in third.
Since its inception in 2014, in a partnership between El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center (KCC) at Onsi Sawiris School of Business and Proctor and Gamble (P&G) Egypt, the competition has been dedicated to show students what it truly means to be a part of a global corporation that caters to a variety of different markets and regions, and that navigates real-life challenges and opportunities.
This year, StandOut was organized with the support of leading marketing and communications agencies: Ipsos Egypt, FP7 McCann, and Starcom, amplifying the participants’ industry exposure. Over the course of the competition’s four-week duration, participating undergraduate students were challenged to develop innovative business solutions based on a real-life case from P&G Egypt. This year, participants gained first-hand experience in decision-making, risk assessment, and problem solving through working on P&G’s femcare product Always.
During the initial registration process, 580 team applications were received, out of which 52 were shortlisted to participate in the competition. Kicking off phase one, the teams received training in both theory and practice from Chair of the Heikal Department of Management Ahmed Tolba as well as brand and sales sessions from P&G executives. The students also attended industry insights sessions from StandOut’s supporters Ipsos Egypt and FP7.
Following these introductory sessions, the 52 teams prepared and presented their initial solutions in front of a panel of judges from Onsi Sawiris School of Business and P&G. In what could only be described as fierce competition, 36 of the 52 teams were eliminated, leaving only 16 teams that made the cut and advanced to the next phase of StandOut.
On May 5, those teams returned for the second part of the competition to showcase their final presentations which they had prepared based on the initial feedback received in the first round. Pressure was on and the students wanted to push themselves to new heights to truly stand out, not only through their academic knowledge, but also through demonstrating agility and market-adaptability.
As Marketing Student and member of The Fantastic Five Nadia Ayman emphasized, “This challenge has pushed me to do things I never thought I would be able to do.”
In this final stage, the panel of judges included academic and industry leaders; with Associate Marketing Professor Hakim Meshreki and Professor of Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at Emlyon Business School Olivier Cateura, leading academia. Industry expertise, on the other hand, was represented by Commercial Director at P&G Khaled El Ezaby, Senior Account Manager at Ipsos Muhammad Agamy, and Account Director at FP7 McCann Ola Rashed.