Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to almost-THURSDAY, as we like to call it here at Enterprise. It’s a bit of a mad rush to the weekend here at home and abroad (or, more specifically, in Ukraine), with a flurry of news on both fronts to keep you busy.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

#1- SolarizEgypt, Amarenco Group sign USD 255 mn acquisition + JV agreement: French independent power producer Amarenco Group is acquiring 74% of SolarizEgypt’s portfolio in Egypt and the two companies will set up a joint venture to co-develop 300 MW of solar power projects over the next four years, as per an agreement the two sides signed, according to a statement (pdf).

#2- Newly launched tech-enabled F&B logistics platform OneOrder raised USD 1 mn in a round led by A15, according to a press release (pdf). The logistics company aims to solve inefficiencies and fragmentation Egypt’s restaurants face when sourcing supplies by creating a platform that consolidates suppliers and vendors for meat, vegetables, and equipment. Bringing these suppliers together on a single platform is hoped to yield more consistent and transparent prices, reliable quality, and regular delivery times, the release says.

^^We’ll have more on these stories and more in tomorrow’s EnterpriseAM.

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

• A busy day in the House gives us future flow securitization, new eviction rules: The House of Representatives’ general assembly approved yesterday amendments to the Capital Markets Act that will introduce future flow securitization, as well as amendments to the Old Rent Act that will allow landlords to eventually evict organizations from non-residential properties, and amendments to the Real Estate Registry Act to streamline the real estate registration process.
• The EGX launched four new sub-indices to track the performance of the most actively traded sovereign debt instruments yesterday in a move that paves the way for investment in index-tracking bond funds and other products linked to those gauges.
• More clarity from CBE on new import rules: The Central Bank of Egypt has responded in a document to queries from importers on its recently issued rules requiring them to get letters of credit (L/Cs) for their purchases instead of the common practice of documentary collection

HAPPENING NOW-

Two Egyptian startups are pitching their businesses to leading tech investors at the pan-African Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi, which kicks off today. Blockchain-based communications platform Pravica and agritech startup Visual and AI Solutions (VAIS) are among the nine startups that have been selected for the two-day event, which will bring together African startups, VC and private equity investors, lenders, and global tech leaders.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The conversation on Ukraine today is focused largely on the impact (or lack thereof) of the US and UK sanctions against Russia, which are being criticized for being limited in scope. Markets largely shrugged off the sanctions — billed as the “first tranche” of the West’s punitive measures against Moscow — as they broadly fell short of the swift and significant steps Washington and London have been vowing to take, Bloomberg reports. The sanctions are also under fire for not being directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin himself.

The EU could follow up with harsher measures, with ministers scheduled to sign off on the sanctions just minutes after we hit “send” on this afternoon’s edition, the Guardian reports.

On the other side of the equation, monetary support for Ukraine is being lined up: The UK rolled out a USD 500 mn loan program for Ukraine to “help mitigate economic impacts on Ukraine’s economy due to Russia’s aggression,” according to a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office statement. Meanwhile, the IMF is starting a new review of Ukraine’s USD 5 bn program, as Kyiv looks to unlock a fresh USD 700 mn tranche, according to Reuters.

This comes as Ukraine decided to impose a state of emergency for 30 days, which can be extended for another 30 days, Reuters reports. Kyiv also ordered its citizens in Russia to leave the country immediately, before the Ukrainian parliament agreed to impose sanctions on hundreds of Russian MPs, including those who had voted in favor of Russia’s decision to recognize the independence of separatist-held areas in Ukraine, according to CNBC.

Meanwhile, surprisingly not in a parallel universe: Former US President Donald Trump is siding with… Russia, calling Moscow’s decision to send troops into two separatist regions of Ukraine “genius,” according to this highly editorialized analysis piece from CNN.

Egypt is currently assessing just how much the unfolding crisis is going to affect us, with a meeting scheduled for later today to discuss the matter in depth, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said, without providing further details.

It’s looking to us like a good news / bad news toss-up for Egypt: On the one hand, Ukraine and Russia are two of our main suppliers of wheat, leading state grain buyer GASC to lock in an April shipment of wheat from Romania despite it being pricier than Ukrainian wheat on offer. On the potentially good news side of things, Egypt could have a chance to export more natural gas to Europe, as Greece is looking for an alternative to Russia, which presently supplies nearly half of Greece’s natural gas needs, Reuters reports. Azerbaijan, Egypt, Algeria, and Nigeria are among the markets Greece is currently looking at as alternatives to Russia, the newswire reports, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter.

The crisis is also having an impact on sports, as Russia could be stripped of hosting the UEFA Champions League final — club football’s most prestigious match — if UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gets his way. In an address to UK Parliament yesterday, Johnson called on UEFA to take the final match elsewhere as part of a basket of punitive measures and sanctions against Russia for its recognition of two self-proclaimed republics in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports. The match is set to be played in St Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena on 28 May.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

ARE YOU BUILDING A FINTECH STARTUP? You might want to apply for Visa’s global startup competition, the Visa Everywhere Initiative, the payments firm said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. In collaboration with the Central Bank of Egypt’s new Fintech Egypt project, the local contest will see Egyptian fintech players go head-to-head for a monetary award and the chance to advance to the regional and global finals. On offer: EGP 500k for the first-place finisher and a place in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) regional finals in June.

What you need to know: A full breakdown on the entry criteria, the application process, and the schedule is available online here. The deadline for applications in Egypt is 20 March.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Our short-lived reprieve from the cold isn’t going to last very long, with the mercury set to reach 19°C during the day tomorrow and 11°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.