PM — COP27 brings a breakthrough

Good afternoon, wonderful people, and welcome to COP27 Day One. It’s one of those rare days when the international and local press converge to focus on the same story, with COP27 leading the conversation everywhere.

BUT FIRST- We wanted to thank our friends at Mashreq Bank, who join us today as a pillar sponsor of EnterprisePM alongside Palm Hills Developments, Etisalat Misr, and CIRA Education. It is through their generous support that we are able to continue to provide your afternoon reads without charge.

THE BIG STORY AT HOME + ABROAD

COP27 kicks off — and we already have some solid progress to report: The start of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh is leading the conversation both here at home and in the international business press this afternoon. The summit hit the ground running with a “breakthrough” agreement between international leaders to formally discuss loss and damage as an agenda item, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said at his opening speech, according to a ministry statement. The agreement “creates for the first time an institutionally stable space on the formal agenda of the COP and the Paris Agreement to discuss the pressing issue of funding arrangements needed to deal with existing gaps in responding to loss and damage,” Shoukry said. Reuters and Bloomberg have the story front-and-center this afternoon, while the Wall Street Journal claims the war in Ukraine is taking attention away from COP27.

CIRA Education closes Egypt’s maiden EGP 800 mn future flow issuance: EGX-listed education provider CIRA Education has closed its maiden EGP 800 mn future flow issuance as part of a larger EGP 2 bn future flow securitized bond program, the company announced in a press release (pdf). The full program will take place over the course of three years.

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

• Everything you need to know as COP27 kicks off: Today is the first day of the two-week UN climate summit and Sharm El Sheikh is glowing green as it welcomes over 40k participants who registered to take part in the event.
• Activity in Egypt’s non-oil private sector continued to contract in October, remaining effectively unchanged from the month before as inflation, supply disruptions, and falling demand abroad continued to weigh on businesses.
• UAE’s National Paints makes play for Pachin: Dubai-based National Paints Holdings (NPH) has launched a takeover bid for Paint and Chemical Industries.

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The Techne Summit continues at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina today, bringing together entrepreneurs and investors from various sectors in the Mediterranean region. The global multi-industry gathering runs until Tuesday as a hybrid event.

New int’l wheat tender: State grains buyer GASC is seeking an unspecified amount of wheat in an international tender this week, Reuters reported. The deadline for offers has been set for Monday, 7 November, it said. Shipping is set for 15-30 December and/or 1-15 January.

Fifteen global green startups will pitch at COP27 as part of the government’s ClimaTech competition: The International Cooperation Ministry has selected its 15-strong shortlist from the 422 startups that applied to the ClimaTech Run competition — which is supported by our friends at USAID through their Business Egypt program. Finalists will pitch their businesses to a judging panel composed of top UN officials as well as representatives of Afreximbank, Microsoft, and Google during the climate summit’s Youth Day, the ministry said last week.

The Knowledge Hub Universities and Nova University Lisbon’s newly inaugurated Cairo campus will host the QS Reimagine Education awards and conference from 6-7 December. The hybrid event will also take place online and at the Wharton School campus in Pennsylvania, and offers awards of up to USD 50k for innovative projects in higher education.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re in for a sunny and pleasant 28°C daytime high tomorrow and a nighttime low of 17°C, according to our favorite weather app.

Some of the world’s biggest airports saw the worst flight delays this summer, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing data from flight-data specialist FlightAware tracking flights between 1 June and 24 July. At the top of the list: Toronto Pearson International and Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, which each saw more than half of their departing flights facing a delay of more than 15 minutes. These airports also saw relatively high flight cancellation rates, but still fared far better than several airports in Asia, including Shanghai Pudong International (38.8%), Nanjing Lukou (15.7%), and Xi'an Xianyang International (14.9%).

Remember: It was a logistically rough time for air travel during the Summer of Revenge: Pent-up tourism demand led global travel rates to jump this summer, coinciding with low staff levels at many major airports that caused them to struggle to keep up with the boom in demand for travel. Thousands of travelers reported lost or delayed luggage, with data from a Spanish ins. firm indicating a 30% y-o-y jump in lost luggage reports.

Could vegetarians’ dietary habits be damaging the environment? Some vegetables come at a hefty environmental cost due to the large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides needed for their cultivation, according to a study from the University of California which looks specifically at broccoli crops. The relative cost of vegetables on the environment also grows higher when considering their perishability, as nearly “half of the fruits and vegetables grown in the US go to waste,” according to a report.

To conserve our ecosystem, we should ideally plant crops that have both calories and nutrients. Although fruits and nuts also have high pesticide requirements to cultivate, they are good for the environment as farmers can replant them every year without having to till the soil. Nuts like almonds and walnuts offer 6-7 mn calories per acre — even better than fruits such as apples, oranges and avocado, The Washington Post reports. Although corn and soy are “the highest-producing cereal grass and plant protein we grow,” whole grains, legumes, tubers like potatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as starchy fruit such as jackfruit and bananas are the ideal sources of food for climate action, according to The Washington Post.

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Kiss the Ground walks a fine line between hope and despair about the environment, but hope comes out on top: The Netflix documentary looks at the dangerous truth about soil erosion around the world, and what would likely happen if current trends keep going. Woody Harrelson narrates the film, which includes interviews with scientists, farmers, community activists, and celebrities like supermodel Gisele Bündchen and singer Jason Mraz. Harrelson provides compelling arguments for using “regenerative agriculture” practices and shows how they could make the planet healthier, replenish our food supplies, and aid in the fight against global warming — all while helping the economy in big ways. In the. Ultimately, this is a thoughtful documentary that offers a dash of relief amid the doom and gloom of climate-related information (watch trailer, runtime 2:29).

⚽ The London derby is about to determine the top spot in the English Premier League: As we hit dispatch, the London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal is still going strong. The game kicked off at 2pm, with the current score still at 0-0. Arsenal needs to come out on top in this game to take the lead back from Manchester City, who beat Fulham yesterday. Meanwhile, Chelsea needs the three points to move up in the league — they are currently in seventh place.

Later this evening, Tottenham will try to capitalize on Liverpool’s stumble when they play today at 6:30pm. The rest of today’s EPL matches all kick off at 4pm: Aston Villa v Manchester United, Newcastle v Southampton, and Crystal Palace v West Ham.

**Have you joined the Enterprise Fantasy League yet? You can keep up with the shenanigans by clicking here or entering the code 8o4sut.

In La Liga: Atletico Madrid v Espanyol (3pm)

Valencia v Real Sociedad (5:15pm)

Real Mallorca v Villarreal (7:30pm)

Sevilla v Real Betis (10pm)

Two must-watch games in In Serie A: Italian giants Juventus and Inter face off at 9:45pm, while earlier at 7pm, Roma plays against Lazio in the Derby della Capitale.

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If you're looking for a clean-eating spot that serves fresh, delicious, and nutritious food, Be Good To You is the place to go: The restaurant offers a wide range of vegetarian, vegan, and no-gluten dishes — none of which are your average boring health food options. Some of their standouts include the pistachio-crusted salmon, the vegan meatballs, and the avocado toast with kale pesto. If you’re craving something sweet but light, go for the dark chocolate chip cookies or their banana cake — none of which contains refined sugar. Located in Katameya Heights’ clubhouse, the setting is also very peaceful and calming, which is ideal for unwinding and disconnecting.

Calling all foodies- Have you recently enjoyed a delicious meal at a local restaurant? Let us know where — and what you enjoyed the most (be it the food itself or the ambiance) — and we’ll check it out. Send your recommendations to editorial@enterprise.press

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Some comedy relief at Room Art Space New Cairo: A standup comedy extravaganza will take place starting 9pm tonight, featuring six comics from DownTown Comedy.

This one’s for the Pink Floyd fans: Andromida are holding a tribute night at Cairo Jazz Club. The progressive rock band will entertain guests with mind-blowing guitar solos and old-school legendary music starting 9pm.

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Why the status quo no longer works: In This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate, Naomi Klein makes a compelling case that climate change is a symptom of a much larger problem: A broken economic system. Klein contends that our current economic system, which she refers to as “extractivism,” is based on the continuous extraction of resources from the earth with little regard for long-term consequences. She argues that capitalism is incompatible with a livable planet and that we must transition to a new economic system, which would necessitate a shift in our perspective on progress and development. She suggests, for example, that we move away from GDP growth as a measure of success and instead focus on measures such as well-being and sustainability. The book is well-written and packed with useful information as well as Klein's trademark wit. While some may consider Klein's proposed solutions to be a bit radical, there is no denying that her book is a powerful call to action that should not be overlooked. This Changes Everything is a must-read for anyone concerned about our planet’s future (which, frankly, should be all of us).

The EGX30 fell 0.7% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 702.6 mn (35% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net sellers. The index is down 6.4% YTD.

In the green: GB Auto (+5.5%), Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (+1.9%) and Rameda Pharma (+1.1%).

In the red: QNB Al Ahly (-6.1%), Egypt Kuwait Holding-EGP (-4.2%) and Ezz Steel (-3.0%).

What StartupLand is hoping to get out of COP27: All eyes are on Sharm El Sheikh today as we kick off COP27, with the broader focus being on how countries will be able to set aside their differences and challenges to follow up on pledges from last year’s Glasgow-hosted COP26. It aims to turn climate pledges into action, despite geopolitical tensions that could derail commitments. For StartupLand, many of the same overarching themes — including accessible climate financing, a conversation about loss and damage, and focusing on developing nations — are filtering through to their list of priorities. Enterprise spoke with several startups and investors about what they hope to see from the annual climate-focused event, what it would take for them to deem it successful, and what they hope to achieve from taking part.

Emerging markets should be a priority: Encouraging more global capital investments in climate innovations in EMs rather than more developed nations should be a central focus, electric mobility startup Shift EV CEO and co-founder Aly Eltayeb believes. “It doesn’t make sense to overinvest in reducing emissions at a very expensive cost In Norway for example. There are gigatonnes of CO2 that can be eliminated in emerging markets at a fraction of the price,” he told Enterprise.

And there’s an eye on the criteria for MENA investments: Plastic upcycling brand Up-Fuse cofounder Yara Yassin would like to see what’s in the bag for MENA in regards to sustainable environmental precautions and steps. “I want to learn more about the opportunities [investors] are bringing for startups and businesses that support sustainable living in general,” she said. Yassin is looking to better understand the criteria in which social enterprise investors decide on which companies to invest in.

Global climate investors need to take notes, Eltayeb said, stressing the necessity that investors “look beyond their Norwegian-Californian-German markets to the rest of the world.” “This is a historic moment, you have climate as a way to spur innovation globally and to achieve a lot of the developmental goals that could only happen with capital flowing around the world,” he said.

Difficult global conditions, but: COP27 could be a great chance for different nations to work together towards a shared goal and push with the goals of the Paris Agreement without being distracted by some of the disagreements that have cropped up, Eltayeb said.

Making headway on putting a monetary value on climate protection would be considered a successful outcome, the founders of the Climate Resilience Fund (CSF) say. “Any actionable progress on defining a monetary value attributable to climate protection initiatives is a win, because it unlocks private capital and delivers impact at scale,” the fund’s Hossam Allam, who is also a founder of Cairo Angels, told Enterprise.

CSF hopes to see “actionable progress on a common accounting system for the value of nature,” Sherief Kesseba, one of the CSF’s partners told Enterprise, pointing at a marketplace that motivates parties to restore habitat. He hopes the summit leads to recognizing African agriculture as a “potential game changer for carbon capture and biodiversity” and bringing in reforms of the carbon marketplace where credits substitute subsidies. “So that farmers globally are incentivized to invest in regenerating land rather than degenerating it,” he said.

The newly-established CSF has been making news on the climate front before COP27 after it announced in September that it plans to raise USD 25 mn gathered from investors within two years of its launch. Some 50% of the yet-to-be-raised funds will go into Egypt, while the rest will be earmarked for pan-African solutions and startups. These startups should provide sustainable agriculture and “nature-positive” solutions to the climate crisis.

Others are looking at the conference as a chance to exchange expertise and showcase their projects. Waste management company Tagaddod CEO and co-founder Nour El Assal (My Morning Routine) wants to share the model that his startup is building in Egypt and build on future corrections. He hopes to exchange experience, understand more about what people are doing in other markets and “understand the status of the world towards moving to a greener climate.” El Assal sees the summit as a chance for attendees to see what other countries and businesses are doing, noting that many successful green initiatives have emerged from large-scale conferences and expos.

Up-Fuse wants to meet people from international organizations that would be interested in implementing a similar model, Yassin tells us. For her, a key goal is to meet policy makers during the conference, and organizations that would be interested in incubating ideas and projects similar to what is offered by her startup, including the International Organization for Migration, the UN Human Rights Commission, and others.

These startups are also looking for some exposure for their business at the summit: Shift EV, Tagaddod, and Up-Fuse will all be present at the Green Zone. Shift EV is powering some of the summit’s logistics with their electrofitted vehicles, El Tayeb tells us. “We’re proud to provide vehicles to move goods around the conference that are zero carbon,” he said, with the startup having a booth in the Egyptian pavilion in the Green Zone. Shift EV will participate in several panels and events throughout the summit as well, he said. Up-Fuse will also share a booth with the Egyptian Clothing Bank (ECA) in the Green Zone, Yassin said. She’ll also be a speaker in several events in the summit’s Green and Blue Zones.

The hot-button issue of loss and damage that Egypt is trying to press during the conference also got some attention. Egypt wants to prioritize the conversation on compensation for countries that have experienced major economic losses on the back of climate change and its consequences. “This is an understandable and even [a] fair ask, but we don’t believe it will materialize as direct compensation. Rather it may come in the form of grants for projects that support the climate, especially from the perspective of rebalancing atmospheric carbon or rehabilitating nature,” Allam said.