It is that time of the year again where AUC School of Business’ knowledge portal Business Forward sheds light on all the significant developments affecting the economy and doing business in Egypt and the region, as it celebrates its anniversary within its annual event.

The event was held in partnership with the Egyptian Credit Bureau – I-Score, Arab-Africa Trade Bridges, The Coca Cola Company, and the Commercial International Bank (CIB Egypt), and provided an informative exchange and outlook on Egypt's economic roadmap by prominent policymakers, business leaders, academics and economic experts, as well as- for the first time- a session especially focused on investment and trade opportunities across Africa.

As always, the event started out with this year’s economy snapshot video, developed by Business Forward and Dcode Economic and Financial Consulting, which presented where Egypt’s economy stands in 2021. Progress has been witnessed in terms of positive growth amidst the second pandemic year, along with other positive indicators; and challenges persisting in indicators like the stumbling current account balance and risks of higher inflation.

This was followed by an expert panel discussion moderated by Dean Sherif Kamel featuring AmCham's President Tarek Tawfik, IMF's Senior Resident Representative to Egypt Said Bakhache, and Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister Gehan Saleh. The panel highlighted the crucial role of the private sector in Egypt’s economic growth noting that the government is realizing this with its current direction of inclusive private sector growth.

The event also witnessed the launch of the second edition of the “This is how I moved my #BusinessForward” campaign. As the world talks about building back better and as climate action becomes no longer a luxury, this year’s campaign theme has been dedicated to responsible business to emphasize the concept of stakeholder (rather than shareholder) capitalism which is to shape the future. This participatory campaign calls on business leaders from Egypt, Africa, and the Middle East to join by sharing stories demonstrating how their companies are creating value for their communities and their business by responding to societal and environmental challenges. The campaign was presented by Business Forward’s Managing Editor Ghada Nadi along with representatives of this year’s campaign sponsors: The Coca-Cola Company's North Africa Head of Public Affairs and Sustainability, Shereen Shaheen, and CIB Egypt’s Head of Sustainability Maysoun Ali.

 

In a fireside chat on "Unpacking Economic Integration with Africa”, industry leaders from Egypt and Nigeria shared their success stories on expanding cross-borders into different African markets and discussed the structural obstacles to achieving better economic integration between African countries. This session was moderated by Christiane Abou-Lehaf, senior manager, international cooperation at Afreximbank, and featured Elsewedy Electric's CEO Ahmed El Sewedy, Dansa Holdings Ltd's Executive Director Mohamed Dangote, Elevate Healthcare Africa's CEO Tarek Moharram, and Pharco Corporation's CEO Sherine Helmy.

In the last session of the day, prolific economist Mahmoud Mohieldin, IMF executive director, broke down where Egypt’s economy stands and the way forward. Mohieldin, who joined us virtually, discussed difficult yet crucial questions, such as why Egypt’s stock market does not mirror its economy, what the most promising of all of Egypt’s megaprojects is, and debated whether the private sector is being crowded out by public investments.

A total of 220 attendees joined us virtually, while 239 attendees were present at the physical event at AUC Tahrir Campus’ Ewart Hall. All 459 attendees benefited from the live discussion, shared their questions with the speakers and had the chance to build connections during the dedicated networking sessions.

Watch the full recording of the event here.

The AUC Venture Lab, Egypt’s first University-based startup incubator and accelerator, was recognized as the Best Accelerator/Incubator Program in North Africa by the Global Startup Awards, a competition based in Copenhagen that reaches 124 countries.

The Venture Lab now sits among the continent's top 60 digital future shapers — selected from a pool of over 7,000 nominations.

"We are honored to be recognized as the best accelerator in North Africa, as it only means that our startups will also be the best in the region," said Ayman Ismail,  Abdul Latif Jamil Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship and AUC Venture Lab Director.

The award came just as the lab graduates another cohort of 20 innovative tech-based startups from its Startup and Fintech Accelerators (more about the graduated startups here), and as it opens applications for future cycles.

"This recognition comes at a very special time," Ismail continued. "This year, we have graduated our biggest cohorts to date, celebrated the first unicorn exit by one of our graduates and revamped our offerings to empower entrepreneurs better than ever."

The lab has supported over 200 graduate startups that have gained EGP 3 million in investments and created 8,500 jobs, leaving a lasting impact on the greater community and regional development ecosystem.

The Global Startup Awards are powered by xo.company, which aims to connect different stakeholders to facilitate vertical innovation, in partnership with the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG) Africa Fund.

Yasmine El Dorghamy ’00 was something of an unofficial Egyptian diplomat before she even graduated from college.

The daughter of an actual diplomat, El Dorghamy lived in five different countries before coming to AUC to complete her undergraduate degree. In every place she touched down — Japan, Greece, Turkey, Mexico — people wanted her to tell them about Egypt. 

“And of course, when you’re Egyptian and abroad, you’re asked questions [specifically] about history,” she said.

Luckily, El Dorghamy had a passion for history, making a point to visit museums and archeological sites and talk to local historians wherever she went. That interest laid the foundation for her multifaceted career in education, history, art and culture.

After beginning college in Mexico, El Dorghamy returned to Egypt to finish her business degree at AUC.

“AUC was instrumental in reintegrating me into Egypt when I moved back,” she said. “I made friends, met like-minded people and began forming the network that would help me pursue my projects years later.”

She went on to get a master’s in international education policy from Stockholm University’s Institute of International Education. After working in development for several years, she eventually became executive director of the Qalaa Holdings Scholarship Foundation, a philanthropic fund that provides Egyptians with opportunities to pursue postgraduate study. In 2010, she founded Rawi — Egypt’s Heritage Review, an annual, bilingual publication focused on Egyptian history and cultural heritage.

El Dorghamy has found ways to support young artists and aspiring historians. She serves on the selection committee this year for the Art D’Egytpe Mahy Khalifa Art Fund, which provides talented young artists with educational support. She’s also an adjunct professor of visual culture at AUC.

“I was thrilled at the opportunity to share the knowledge I’ve acquired in a different way, with a younger age group than I’m used to,” she said of teaching at AUC. “It’s been very refreshing and enlightening for me.”

AUCians benefit from her extensive knowledge of Egyptian arts and culture. Rawi’s material spans 7,000 years of Egyptian history and brings together research from a vast array of specialists.

The 2016 edition of Rawi, which was a massive undertaking, is considered among the first and best encyclopedic references on Egyptian Modern Art.  

“We took double the time to produce it, and it came out double the size. It turned out there was a huge need for it,” said El Dorghamy.

Rawi’s subject matter is intensive and far-reaching enough to be taught by professors in other universities, including internationally. Alex Dika Seggerman, an assistant professor of art history at Rutgers University-Newark, brought back 20 copies of the cinema edition for a seminar on Middle East cinema last year.

“Rawi was, and is, a wonderful teaching tool, especially for this area of scholarship on Egyptian cinema that — until some new 2021 and 2022 publications by AUC Press — was not very robust,” Seggerman said. “Rawi's readable and general perspective, as well as the fantastic design, is easy for students to engage with.”

General readability was exactly El Dorghamy’s goal. She initially founded the magazine — in its earlier iteration called Turath — because she wanted heritage researchers to find an audience beyond that of their insular academic journals.

The review has weathered several major storms, namely the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and COVID-19. During the revolution, El Dorghamy said she managed to keep the magazine relevant by “covering all the heritage-related issues at the time when a lot of archeological sites were being attacked and museums ransacked.”

“Just surviving is an achievement,” she said, laughing.

The publication celebrated its 10th anniversary last year and will soon launch a partnership with Google Arts & Culture in an effort to expand on more platforms. The most recent issue covered the history of costume and clothing in Egypt, and the next will focus on healing and the medical sciences.

El Dorghamy is modest about her business sense — she jokingly said it’s the most “boring” part of the work she does — but she has clearly figured out the key to juggling multiple successes and creating long-lasting organizations.

“It’s a cliche, but do what you love,” she said. “Do what you love, and you’ll be good at it.”

“This is the cherry-on-top of our journey as students at AUC School of Business.” – Haya El Zayat and Nada Bakry, 2020 Economics graduates.

Last Wednesday, AUC School of Business held a Recognition of Excellence Ceremony (REC) to celebrate the top 10 percent performing students across undergraduate and graduate programs of the graduating spring ’20, fall ’20 and spring ’21 classes. The ceremony was held for the first time in the form of a “Dinner with the Dean” event at the Stage Garden of The American University in Cairo's (AUC) Tahrir Square campus.

The night began with welcoming notes from Eman Mourad, senior manager, Student Services and Development, and Dean Sherif Kamel who expressed his excitement to finally be able to host this ceremony after one and a half years.

“The last time we held this event was February 27, 2020,” he noted, adding that “as faculty, staff and families we work around the clock for the moment you graduate.”

The average student spends four years at AUC, but they become associated with the University for the rest of their lives. “You didn’t leave the institution. You just moved to another group of networks, which is the alumni,” explained Kamel, highlighting that the alumni network of AUC bypasses 50,000 people; those of the School of Business are half of this number.

He also advised them to keep the connection, because the learning process doesn’t stop. “You guys will be invited in the not too distant future as guest speakers and as mentors for our future students,” he said.

AUC School of Business alumnus and recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award Tamer Hamed ‘98, former senior vice president, Procter and Gamble North Africa, shared some words of wisdom with our graduates.

“Your GPA, hard work, and level of wealth are all important, but the right attitude trumps all,” Hamed stated, adding “The learner attitude is important, keep the student in you.”

He also broke down his own “4 Ps” theory for achieving excellence in life after graduation: Patience, persistence, perseverance, and passion. “Nothing happens overnight. Trying once is not enough. Keep moving forward despite disappointments. And lastly, nothing in life is done with excellence without passion,” he explained.

Speaking of excellence, in addition to receiving their certificates, three graduates were also given special awards for their exceptional work. Yossra Ashraf Helmy received the Omar Mohsen Memorial Cup, Adham Assem Mehany received the Steven S. Everhart Cup for the Class of 2020, and Ali Mustafa Labana received the same award for the Class of spring 2021.

The student team that won second place globally in Shell Imagine the Future Competition was also recognized during the ceremony. AUC alumnus Moataz Darwish, deputy chairman, Shell Companies in Egypt expressed how proud he is of the teamwork and dedication of the winning team.  “It is such a rewarding experience to get invited to this dinner after all the hard work we had put into our studies as well as the competition,” said team member Lara Shaheen.

The night ended with a heartwarming group picture by the Tahrir Square campus’ old palace.

We wish our graduates a life full of success and look forward to their tangible impact on their communities and beyond.

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Recognition of Excellence Recipients

Graduate:

Master of Arts in economics

1. Atheer Osama Hamed Mohamed – Highest GPA in Master of Arts in economics for class of spring 2020

2. Maha Mahmoud Rashied – Highest GPA in Master of Arts in economics for class of spring 2021

Master of Arts in economics in international development

1. Moustafa Mahmoud Ismail – Highest GPA in Master of Arts in economics in International Development for class of fall 2020

Master's of business administration

1. Amir Hany Awad – Highest GPA in Master's of business administration for class of spring 2020

2. Mohamed Nabil El Midani – Highest GPA in Master's of business administration for class of fall 2020

Master in international management

1. Shamsa Shafaa Mahran – Highest GPA in Master's in international management for class of fall 2020

2. Yara Salah Koura – Highest GPA in Master's in international management for class of spring 2021

Master of Science in finance

1. Maha Moustafa Gaber – Highest GPA in Master of Science in finance for class of fall 2020

2. Mariam Ashraf Kiryakos – Highest GPA in Master of Science in finance for class of spring 2021

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Undergraduate:

Bachelor of Accounting

Class of spring 2020

1. Fairuz Tarek Ali El Khadrawe – Double major in accounting and business administration and Highest GPA in Bachelor's of accounting for class of spring 2020

2. Tamara Alkhammach

3. Sara Aly Hamed Elazhary

Class of spring 2021

1. Yara Hatem Mahmoud Ali Farag – Highest GPA in accounting for class of spring 21

2. Youmna Mohamed Rashad Mohamed Rashad

3.  Souzan Abdelmoneim Ahmed Elhamy Elhusseiny

Bachelor of business administration

Class of Spring 2020

1. Marwan Rafik Gamil Hassan Mattar

2. Aly Hisham Ahmed Ramy Taha

3. Ayten Adham Rashad Ismail Abdelmoneim

4. Jana Ahmed Mohamed Gamaleldeen Aboughaly

5. Raneem Mohamed Ahmed Abdullah Sherif

6. Yasmeen Ashraf Bakry Abdelnaeem

7. Farah Alaa Fahmy Sadek Ibrahim

8. Mai Hesham Mohamed Eid

Class of fall 2020

1. Marina Mouris Fouad Tawadros – Double major in business administration and in accounting and Highest GPA in business administration and in accounting for class of fall 2020

2. Fatma Omar Khaled Abdelghany Halawa – Double major in business administration and accounting

3. Mariam Ahmed Mohamed Abd Elhamid Mohamed Talaat

4. Mabrouk Moatez Abdelrahman Ahmed Said Elkawas

5. Salma Wael Mohamed Elsadda

Class of spring 2021

1. Ali Mustafa Abdelfatah Ahmed Labana

2. Rowyda Ahmed Salaheldin Said

3. Nour Alaa Essameldin Allam

4. Mariam Hany Kamil Tosson Ibrahim Boktor

Bachelor of business administration in management of information and communication technology

Class of spring 2020

1. Aida Sherif Mohamed Ahmed Bayoumi – Highest GPA in business administration in management of information and communication technology for class of spring 2020

Class of fall 2020

1. Amira Mohsen Ahmed Aboud Younes – Highest GPA in business administration in management of information and communication technology for class of fall 2020

Class of spring 2021

1. Merna Mankarious – Highest GPA in business administration in management of information and communication technology for class of spring 2021

Bachelor of Arts in economics

Class of Spring 2020

1. Ayaa Osama Ezzeldin Mohammed Touny – Highest GPA in economics for class of spring 2020

2. Raghda Mahmoud Hussien Abdelhalim Elgedawy

3. Hazem Mohammed Mohammed Abdelfatah Metwally Elokda

4. Mennatallah Essam Abdelsalam Abdelghaffar

5. Nourhan Hossam Mahmoud Elhadba

Class of fall 2020

1. Mahmoud Ahmed Abdelaziz Elhakim – Highest GPA in economics for class of fall 2020

2. Farah Medhat Mohamed Mohamed Elnady

Class of spring 2021

1. Nada Ashraf Mohsen Bakry – Highest GPA in economics for class of fall 2020

2. Haya Sayed Ahmed Fathy El Zayat

Egypt’s population rose from 72 million in 2006 to 100 million in 2020, and is expected to reach 128 million by 2030. This spike in growth is mainly due to the increasing birth rate, which rose from an average of 3.0 to 3.5 births per woman from 2008 to 2013. As the population rises, so do the concerns pertaining to achieving inclusive economic development.

John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy, Civic Engagement and Responsible Business aimed to tackle this issue with the youths’ lens. A nine-month-long Egypt-wide youth competition aimed at developing innovative solutions for Egypt’s family planning issue was implemented jointly by Gerhart Center and John Snow, Inc. (JSI), under the patronage of Egypt’s National Population Council during the academic year 2020/2021. This activity is part of USAID’s Strengthening Egypt’s Family Planning Program (SEFPP).

“This impressive competition, implemented by our long-time valued partner AUC, in conjunction with the National Population Council and JSI, through the USAID-funded SEFPP, merges USAID support in Egypt’s youth with the government of Egypt goals in voluntary family planning,” commented Margaret Sancho, deputy mission director at USAID Egypt, during the closing ceremony of the competition held on September 28, at the AUC Tahrir Campus.

During the span of the nine-month program, fifteen initiatives were developed by 64 students, aged from 17 to 23 years old, from more than 20 public and private universities around Egypt. “Participants were involved in capacity building, initiative implementation, teamwork, and community outreach”, explained Nada Bahgat, senior specialist at Gerhart Center.

Experts from Gerhart Center equipped the students with technical and non-technical skills (such as field research, problem analysis, project management, communication, and social media) to render them health ambassadors around Egypt. “Implementing this program arose from AUC’s mission to empower young people to be part of the positive change in their communities and to lead change through creativity, innovation, and proactivity”, said Alaa El Din Adris, associate provost for research, innovation, and creativity, highlighting how AUC values its collaboration and active engagement with Egyptian universities.

“The project is a definite eye-opener, as I have seen nothing like it before, especially targeting university students,” Bassant Eid, a participant in the project, declared. “I learned a lot of terms regarding sexual health and family planning; I discovered that I was not really that aware of the concern,” Ali Tamer, another participant, commented.

The program is based on experiential teaching and learning methods, providing students with real-world relevance, problem-based learning, and individual development. Full of enthusiasm, the students designed ideas that are interdisciplinarily focused on technology, counseling, art, community work, podcasting, animation, and social media. “Going to the field and dealing with the people taught us about the target population and how to best deal with them; this will help me along with my life,” Mira Emad, another participant, mentioned.

Ahsbha Sah (Think Smart) won first place, being awarded EGP 20,000 to help them implement their vision. Taking place in El-Demerdash hospital, the initiative aimed to orient patients through a booth at the hospital about contraceptives and family planning.

Sahel el-Ziyada, Sa’ab el-Ejada (Easy-to-be-Raised, Hard-to-be-Mastered), and Ehna fe el-Boadai’en (We are in the After) won second place, being awarded EGP 10,000. The first team’s idea is to publish an awareness campaign titled “Sawa/Together”, while the second team aims to establish an interactive theater, accompanied by a parallel social media campaign, with discussions to follow the play.

“We truly believe that the most important initiatives are those focused on youth, especially when those initiatives go along with the developmental plans of the government of Egypt,” highlighted H.E. Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El Said during the closing ceremony of the competition. Adding that, “youth comprises 60% of the Egyptian population, and they are the future of this country.”

Watch the full closing ceremony here.

After a year and a half of lockdown, AUC had finally opened its doors for its students, faculty, and staff. The next step was to celebrate last year’s and this year’s graduates with a live commencement ceremony.

September 28 and 29 are the days AUC School of Business Spring ‘20, Fall ’20, and Spring ‘21 graduates finally received their diplomas during a commencement ceremony they had truly deserved. "Commencement days are the culmination of several years of study, hard work, commitment and sacrifices not only for you, the students, but also the families, the faculty, the staff and the entire school community," Dean Sherif Kamel opened the ceremony.

Classes of 2020 were composed of 36 graduate students and 340 undergraduate students; with 46 students graduating with honors (cum laude), 96 students with high honors (magna cum laude), and 100 students with highest honors (summa cum laude).

The school graduates of Fall 2021, on the other hand, were composed of 51 graduate students and 540 undergraduate students; among those, 41 students were graduating with honors (cum laude), 52 students with high honors (magna cum laude), and 57 with highest honors (summa cum laude).

Coming back to campus to graduate is something that our newly minted alumni were looking forward to. “I feel very nostalgic and very, very overwhelmed,” Ziena Halaly, graduate of the class of 2020, described her feelings coming again to campus, adding that “AUC was basically my home.” “Thrilling,” “inspiring,” and “life-changing” is what the graduate's four-year experience at AUC School of Business was like. 

Graduates of the school have experienced the shift for online learning, for some 16 months, and for others just over 8 months. “We, as a school, together with the university leadership and the entire university community, have your wellbeing, health and safety at our utmost priority – a goal equally important to what we all strive to, day in and day out, and that is to offer you a unique impactful learning experience,” highlighted Kamel. 

Speaking of impact, this year’s guest speakers were two powerful businessmen who left their mark on Egypt’s economy. “Today as you graduate, don’t think you will stop learning; you learned how to learn,” commented Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, managing partner at HE Advisory and former chairman of CIB Egypt, advising the graduating class of 2020, to keep on with their growth and development beyond the doors of the university.  “As you go into the business world, be keen to interact, accept and learn from others. Listen to understand, don’t listen to respond. Have confidence in yourself and respect yourself through honesty,” he added.

On a different note, Alaa Hashim, co-founder and executive partner of Transcendium and chairman of Delicious Inc., was concerned with the role the graduates are about to play in the larger Egyptian community and the world. “If you guys will not make our future better, who will?” he asked the graduating class of 2021.

As always, the graduates also received advice from their fellows. During the 2020 ceremony, Halaly advised current and prospective students at AUC School of Business to “be open-minded and try a lot of different things.”

Feras Almekhlafy, graduate of the class of 2021, emphasized on the importance of keeping a positive attitude and good connections with each other. “It is good to have competition between you and your classmates, but keep it healthy. Don’t let competition and striving to be the best get in the way of making connections with other students, because you don’t know, in the not so distant future, you will meet again and you will remember your life as students, even if that happens 20 years from now,” he stressed.

Representing the graduate class of 2021, Mahmoud Kalila commenced his speech stating that “the year 2020 is a special one, it's the year that shook the whole world. I believe that my past experiences prior to 2020 have prepared me for this difficult year.” He explained: “All those skills you learned so far, the traumas, the experiences and the blessings you counted made you who you are today. Today is the present, the junction in time where you can alter your destiny. There is hope in the making.”

This message of humbleness and hope was also shared by Youssef Abdelkader to the graduating class of 2020. “Kindness is the most important course in our curriculum as humans. It is the prerequisite to all the important courses and it should be an easy A, because in each and everyone one of us there is fundamental good,” said Abdelkader.

Lastly, Nour Hesham, who delivered the speech on behalf of the undergraduate class of 2021, shared her unique perspective on how, as humans, we are all storytellers. “This moment, our final goodbye is the start of something bigger than all of us, a story worth a thousand words. It is time for us to step out into the real world and finally tell the stories that we have.”

 

Watch the full commencements, here for 2021, and here for 2020.