Good afternoon, nice people, and welcome to the accidental Omicron edition of EnterprisePM. The news cycle here at home is eerily calm, with no major stories grabbing our attention today so far. Abroad, it’s a different picture: The newly identified covid-19 strain and how to avoid an exact repeat of March 2020 is all anybody can talk about in the global press. We have the latest updates and insights in The Big Story Abroad and For Your Commute, below.

But first: Our largest-yet batch of Pfizer shots is here: 3.89 mn doses of Pfizer vaccines arrived at Cairo Airport through the Gavi / Covax program on Saturday, according to a Health Ministry statement. By our count, the delivery brings the total number of Pfizer jabs we’ve received so far to 12.1 mn.

HAPPENING NOW-

The House of Representatives is currently discussing proposed amendments to the Private and Nonprofit Universities Act which would encourage public entities to establish nonprofit universities in partnership with international and private universities, according to Masrawy. The amendments come as part of the state’s push to establish 15 nonprofit universities and colleges in the coming years and aim to make the venture more attractive.

The Creative Industry Summit kicked off this morning at Nile Ritz-Carlton and continues until this Wednesday, 1 December.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Introducing What’s Next: Enterprise is launching What’s Next — the first exclusive platform in frontier markets to identify the next generation of great businesses in Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia — in partnership with EFG Hermes and Inktank.
• Gas export plans get a bump: The Madbouly government signed on Thursday agreements with Greece and Israel that could see Egypt import more natural gas from Israel and increase shipments to Greece.
• Aldar-ADQ’s offer for SODIC is final: Aldar Properties and Abu Dhabi sovereign fund ADQ reportedly won’t up their bid for upmarket developer SODIC again if shareholders reject the price of the ongoing mandatory tender offer.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The emergence of Omicron covid-19 variant is plastered on the front pages of all the major news outlets this afternoon: Financial Times | WSJ | Reuters | CNN | New York Times.

Omicron who? Just yesterday, the World Health Organization called the Omicron strain a “variant of concern” as travel bans to southern Africa and other countries where Omicron has been detected popped up across Europe, the US, Canada, the Middle East and Asia. So far, early evidence shows that Omicron has “a large number of mutations,” according to the WHO, and may be transmitted more easily. There is also evidence that it could hold a greater risk for reinfection for those who have already had covid.

More cases detected: Since we last wrote to you this morning, the new variant has been detected in the UK, Australia, and Italy in travelers returning from southern Africa. Hong Kong, Israel, Belgium, and Botswana had previously also announced detecting cases of the variant.

And more lockdowns and travel bans: Saudi Arabia has barred flights to and from Malawi, Zambia, Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius, Angola, and Comoros, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Meanwhile, the UK announced new measures in a bid to keep the variant under control.

We get into the latest updates and details in For Your Commute, below.

FOR TOMORROW- Egypt Defense Expo begins tomorrow and runs until Thursday, 2 December at the Egypt International Exhibition Center.

PSA- Calling all college seniors and recent grads: You have until tomorrow to register for a career development training program from the CIT Ministry’s Digital Egypt Youth initiative. The program will be held online in January 2022.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Young professionals can now apply for the recently-launched McKinsey Forward program which focuses on leadership, business, and the transition to digital, McKinsey announced in a press release (pdf). The six-month program aims to teach participants how their business can combat challenges and use them to their advantage, integrate tech, and be adaptable and resilient during times of change. Forward will be available without charge to those eligible to apply — one of the requirements is having less than five years of work experience. You can apply via this link before the 12 December deadline.

The Cairo International Film Festival continues its 10-day run after kicking off on Friday. The festival wraps next Sunday, 5 December.

KfW Development Bank is launching its open call for green project proposals in Egypt as part of their Investing for Employment facility (pdf) this Tuesday, 30 November. The facility will award grants to projects that contribute towards job creation. You can find out more about the facility and the application process here.

A new month is around the corner. The key news triggers to keep your eye on as we approach December:

• PMI: Purchasing managers’ index figures for November for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar will be released on Sunday, 5 December. Figures for the UAE, which normally drop on the same day as Egypt and Saudi, will be released two days later on Tuesday, 7 December.
• Foreign reserves: November’s foreign reserves figures will be released during the first week of the month.
• Inflation: Inflation figures for November will be released on Thursday, 9 December. Data for inflation typically drops on the 10th of every month, but is moved up one day if that falls on a Friday.
• Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee will hold its final meeting for the year to review interest rates on Thursday, 16 December.

The new round of Silicon Waha’s Startup Factory will kick off on 10 December at the Assiut Technology Zone. The program will offer marketing tips and tricks for startup founders, who can apply here.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The last day of off-season warm weather for awhile: The mercury will rise to 34°C tomorrow during the day and fall to 19°C at night, with the weather expected to get significantly colder (and more appropriate for this time of year) as the week progresses, according to our favorite weather app.