Making It

Having served as Executive Advisor for Microsofinance at Banque du Caire and then as head of the microfinance and SMEs division at the Bank of Alexandria, Amro Abouesh believed in private sector financing as a means to enable social mobility within the low income sector of society. By founding Tanmeyah in 2009, Amro effectively launched private microfinance in Egypt and helped bring in Egypt&rsquo...

Laila Sedky and Adel Sedky, Founder and CEO of NOLA As Founder and CEO of one of the most recognizable brands in the confectionary business, Laila and Adel understand the business of selling happiness. Their tenure at Nola saw them grow the brand beyond the flagship store in Zamalek to a confectionary giant with 25 stores across 7 cities. From leading the local cupcake craze to making pivotal deci...

Mohamed El Kalla, CEO of Cairo for Investment and Real Estate ( CIRA ).  As the head of one of the largest private sector education operators, El Kalla is someone who understands the business of education. He has seen the seismic shifts in the industry over the past few decades: from family-owned businesses to corporations, from Cairo and Alex to the other governorates, from the super wealthy...

Making It in the time of covid-19: Making It is back for its second season. Making It is a show about building great businesses in Egypt. Each episode brings you a one-on-one sit-down with a CEO or founder at the top of their game. They are leaders at the helm of businesses going through different stages of growth and they discuss with us the issues they face, the challenges they have to overcome,...

As we wrap up our first season of Making It, Enterprise's very first podcast, we thought we'd reach out to everyone who lent us an ear these past few months and thank them for their constant feedback. If you have something you'd like to let us know about this season, or any recommendations for seasons to come, email us at makingit@enterprisemea.com ** Subscribe to Making it here for https://bit.ly...

TAM Gallery, formerly Arts Mart, started off as an online gallery that aimed to give new artists a chance to break into the Egyptian art world. Fast forward less than a decade later, TAM has three arms each aiming to give new artists and entry into the commercial world — and to bring new potential buyers into the market. The online gallery is still going strong, but is now complimented by a...

If you’ve ever been starving in Egypt without a kitchen anywhere in sight, it’s likely that you’ve tried a snack by Edita. Since its founding in 1996, the maker of such brands as Todo, Molto, Bake Rolz and Twinkies, expanded its product offering, grown its manufacturing capacity, and has even launched a factory in Morocco. It did this during the economic storm that came with the...

Hazem Moussa will forgive you if you’ve never heard of Sarwa Capital, because unless you’re a finance geek (like us), Sarwa is hardly a company whose name you’ll hear every day — even though there’s a reasonable chance Sarwa has been involved in your financial life one way or another.  They own Contact Cars (the website and the car finance business). They sell in...

After taking over the helm at Azza Fahmy back in 2006, Fatma Ghali, along with her sister Amina, built on the legacy of their mother, spearheading the expansion of the brand outside of Egypt and added a contemporary perspective to the company’s designs. They established a foothold in the European market through collaborations with leading fashion designers such as Julien MacDonald and Mathew...

Karim Awad started at EFG Hermes as an analyst and rose to become the head of EFG’s high-profile investment banking unit — a job he held until he was tapped to run the firm as Group CEO in 2013. In an industry known for its outsized egos, Karim is Scottie Pippen, the consummate team player from the 1990s Chicago Bulls.  In this week’s episode, Karim talks about the firm&rsqu...

Seeing the rapid growth of digital assistants, Abeer El Sisi and Karim El Sahy co-founded Elves in 2016, along with Ahmed Kassem. They looked at the deficiencies in current digital assistants and realized the human element was still needed. By efficiently connecting people with human assistants, Elves’ AI platform learns from these interactions and in turn becomes more efficient and better a...

After a ten-year run leading a high-end retailer of imported food in Egypt, Jalal Abu Gazaleh nearly fell off a cliff when the devaluation of the EGP saw prices skyrocket, inflation go through the roof — and an effective ban on imports put in place.  In today’s episode, Jalal talks with us about how he built the business from a one-desk meat importer into a retail powerhouse and a...

An introduction to Making It , by one of our hosts Patrick, Enterprise's editor-in-chief and co-founder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing Enterprise's first podcast series that tackles great businesses in Egypt and the stories behind them, straight from the founders and CEOs themselves.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.