Cairo, Egypt: The British Egyptian Business Association held its 8th webinar in the series of discussions they are holding virtually, where they tackled the future of investment in education in Egypt as well as the opportunities and challenges facing this sector. The successful webinar hosted a number of experts and industry leaders including Basel El Hini, Chairman & MD Misr Insurance Holding, Abdalla Elebiary, Chief Investment Officer, Sovereign Fund of Egypt, Ihab Salama, CEO El Sewedy Education, Ahmed Shalaby, President & CEO Tatweer Misr, and Gemma Wild, Sector Head Education & Healthcare, MENAT, HSBC. The session was moderated by Karim Helal, Investment Banker and Country Director Egypt, Colliers International.
For his part, Basel El Hini, Chairman & MD Misr Insurance Holding, stated that education is considered one of the two main drivers in Egypt and it is vital for economic development. Misr Insurance Holding has been investing in different sectors for years since its establishment but the Group has never approached the education sector. The Group decided to invest in this sector as they spotted the market gap as all the investments are directed to schools for higher social classes rather than the middle ones. With this new approach and investment in a new educational platform, the Group aims for an impact and prioritizes doing work that consciously, systemically and sustainably serves the community.
Abdalla Elebiary, Chief Investment Officer, Sovereign Fund of Egypt, pointed out the objectives of the Sovereign Fund which are adding value to the unutilized governmental assets, investing in industries important for the future, acting as a bridge to bring private investments whether its source is Egyptian, regional or international and having a sustainable development impact. The Sovereign Fund of Egypt identified the new investment opportunity when they found that the education phase which has the highest return on economy is the middle-income education as it constitutes 15mn students of addressable market with tuition fees up to ten thousand EGP.
Ihab Salama, CEO El Sewedy Education, said that the impact the technical academy has made was the reason behind establishing El Sewedy Education as it changed people’s lives who were coming from rural areas to join the academy with 100% employability. Their biggest investment now is the Knowledge Hub in the New Administrative City and the deal to bring Coventry University, one of the UK's top-performing universities, to Egypt. The Knowledge Hub was established with a focus on quality of education and employability, two aspects that are essential in preparing students for the job market. They faced a lot of challenges to make this happen but had the government support to open the university, which is a considerable investment, in 18 months. Alongside the presence of International Branch Campuses to ensure quality education is accessible to students, the future of education is moving towards integrating technology to increase its reach beyond a physical campus. During the Covid-19 lockdown, the Knowledge Hub was able to move studies online in the span of 48 hours, indicating the importance of technological readiness to meet the evolving needs of students.
Ahmed Shalaby, President & CEO of Tatweer Misr, stated, “Education and entrepreneurship have always been integral to Tatweer Misr’s strategy, we aim to develop fully integrated urban communities. Bloomfields, our first home project located in Mostakbal city in New Cairo is designed to become Egypt’s first college town. Our main objective is to develop a fully integrated mixed-used development with all the essential aspects for people to live in, combining residential, commercial and administrative areas spanning over 325 acres with total investments of EGP 28 Bn. As well as an educational zone spanning over another 90 acres over 10 years.” He added, “Through this educational zone Tatweer Misr aims to provide high quality education as well as a suitable environment for innovation and entrepreneurship to thrive. In the first phase of Bloomfield’s educational we partnered with three international educational institutions; an international branch campus of New Jersey Institute of technology (NJIT), two schools for the King’s College, and a school for Narmer American College.” Finally, Gemma Wild, Sector Head Education & Healthcare, MENAT, HSBC, pointed out the important role that the bank plays in supporting education’s entire ecosystem, from parents and students, to teachers and investors. HSBC also invests in education through various sustainability programmes that aim to develop the future skills, employability, and financial capabilities of the communities in which it operates and serves. HSBC also uses its international network to act as a global connector for all stakeholders across the education ecosystem, helping them to achieve their aspirations.
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