PM — Crypto for martians

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the end of hump day. While it’s not what we would describe as a typical news dump day, there are interesting stories to keep your eyes on.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Annual urban inflation accelerated to its highest level in nearly three years in April amid rising global food prices and the EGP devaluation. The headline rate recorded 13.1% in April, rising from 10.5% in March, according to figures released by statistics agency Capmas. April’s reading is above the Central Bank of Egypt’s 7% (±2%) target range and the quickest rate since May 2019, when the figure stood at 14.1%. Monthly inflation accelerated to 3.3%, its highest level since June 2019 when it recorded 3.48%.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The EU is backtracking on plans to ban imports of Russian oil after facing pressure from several European countries, most notably Greece, Malta and Hungary, which has also withheld its backing of the proposed EU embargo on oil from the country. The proposed ban was intended to add further strain on Russia by cutting off a major export market. The European countries that protested the ban argued that a number of EU economies would be hit hard if it had passed, and that the ban won’t be effective because it does not involve other countries such as the US and UK, where many shipping vessels are flagged. Bloomberg and the Financial Times have the story.

But other sanctions are on their way: The EU had also proposed a ban on European companies providing ins. to Russian oil shippers — a move that some analysts believe would “still amount to a backdoor ban on Russian oil worldwide.” It is also currently working on a strategy to more than double the pace at which solar panels are installed across the bloc as an alternative to Russian fossil fuels, Bloomberg reports.

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

• Occupancy rates rise in 1Q as travel restrictions ease: The easing of travel restrictions was good news for Egypt’s hotel industry during the first quarter of the year, which saw rising occupancy rates even as the conflict in Ukraine prevented tourists from two of Egypt’s key markets from visiting the country from February, according to figures in Colliers International’s quarterly MENA hotels report.
• Allianz + Sanlam merge African operations: Allianz and South Africa’s Sanlam are merging their operations in Africa to create “the largest pan-African non-banking financial services entity on the continent.”
• We’re getting EUR 138 mn in EU development grants: The EU and the International Cooperation Ministry yesterday signed development financing grants worth a total of EUR 138 mn that will fund healthcare projects, administrative reform, and environmental, rural, and community development initiatives.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

A huge US “GreenTech business mission” is inbound next week. More than 40 US companies will be in Egypt during 15-17 May to kick the tires on green investment and potential business partnerships in sectors ranging from energy to healthcare, agriculture, aviation, construction and water resource management. The high-level delegation will meet with members of the business community and senior government officials.

The PSA world squash championships get underway in Cairo this Friday, 13 May. The men’s and women’s finals will be played on 22 May. There is USD 550k at stake for each of the men’s and women’s championships, making this the biggest purse on record for a squash tourney. The CIB-sponsored championships will play out at SODIC’s Club S Allegria and at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.

The Central Bank of Egypt will meet to review interest rates on Thursday, 19 May.

The last of this season’s earnings releases will drop by 31 May after the Financial Regulatory Authority granted listed companies a two-week deadline extension.

Early-stage foodtech startups have until June to apply to the second edition of the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and Tamkeen’s global FoodTech Challenge, with an earnings pool of USD 2 mn, according to a statement (pdf). The challenge is looking to find “the next wave of technology innovations on the cusp of transforming traditional agriculture practices, efficiently and sustainably” specifically geared towards innovation in food production and food loss and waste. Partners supporting the competition include Aspire, ADQ, Silal and Emirates Foundation.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a daytime high of 32°C tomorrow and a nighttime low of 17°C, our favorite weather app tells us.

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Andy Warhol’s portrait of Marilyn Monroe broke auction records for American art after selling for USD 195 mn in an auction at Christie’s yesterday to an unknown buyer, reports CNBC. While the price tag fell short of the USD 200 mn estimate for the artwork and the USD 250-300 mn whispered about among dealers, the sale signals a renewed optimism for the art scene and a boost of confidence for wealthy buyers. This comes as Christie’s and Sotheby’s plan to sell more than USD 2 bn worth of art in the next two weeks. The Marilyn, known as “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” was one of five versions in different color schemes that Warhol painted in 1964 that became some of his most iconic and famous images. An orange version was recently privately sold to hedge fund bn’aire Ken Griffin for around USD 200 mn.

Crypto for life on Mars: LedgerX co-founder Paul Chou is raising capital for a new kind of interplanetary cryptocurrency that can settle transactions on any planet in the solar system, Forbes reports, tapping into a global space economy that Morgan Stanley estimates will reach USD 1 tn by 2040. “Mars is a unique, blank slate starting point where we can try something from scratch,” says Chou. Some of the unique challenges Chou’s team will take on include tackling the double-spend problem: making sure the same cryptocurrency isn’t spent on two planets at the same time, since it currently takes an average of 28 minutes for a signal to reach Mars.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

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Old Enough is the cutest (and not vapid) reality TV show you’ll ever watch: The short-format Japanese show sees parents send their children on tasks to complete while a film crew follows the child on their solo mission to see how well they’ll complete it. The first episode features a young boy — who is two years and nine months old — walking 1 km to the supermarket to get things for his mom. There is something distinctly comedic about watching young children try and navigate a world designed for adults and sometimes they succeed with flying colors while other times they go off on a tangent and forget the task at hand. Episodes are around 10 minutes or less, making it easy viewing for when you’re eating or when you just have 10 minutes to burn.

⚽ English Premier League: Liverpool will face Aston Villa at 9pm in a confrontation between Liverpool and its former captain and legend Steven Gerrard. The match is of great importance in the league race, and there is no room for the Reds to forfeit its three points if they want to continue putting pressure on Manchester City, the current defending champion and leader with a difference of three points.

In the Spanish League: We have three rounds to go before the end of the competition. Barcelona will host Celta Vigo at 9:30pm in a match where the Catalan team is trying to tighten its control over second place behind Real Madrid. Before that, Valencia meets Real Betis at 7pm, then Granada faces Athletic Bilbao at 8pm.

As for Omm El Donia, league leaders Zamalek will play against Enppi at 9pm, while Ceramica Cleopatra and El Gouna meet at 6:30pm.

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Sloppy Joe food truck brings the American creation to Egypt: Located in Zayed’s Galleria 40, Sloppy Joe specializes in the messy minced meat and tomato combo, putting it on everything from spaghetti to hot dogs to fries. Their signature sloppy joes come in a garlic butter brioche bun and you can choose to make it spicy or add cheese, pickles, or jalapeños. You should also check out their sloppy loaded dawgs, which come either as a classic sausage filled with cheese or a paprika sausage. For your sweet tooth, Sloppy Joe offers a Lotus and banana frappe milkshake or a chocolotus empanada roll filled with Lotus and chocolate.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

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Fathy Afifi’s latest work will be displayed in an exhibition titled Al Rehla at Picasso Art Gallery starting today. Afifi’s paintings capture the movement of the masses in Cairo whether it's through walking on the busy streets or riding public transport. He tries to display the reality of Egyptian streets as opposed to romanticizing it, painting the gritty details and blank faces of those lost in their own heads. The exhibit will run until 25 May.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

A first-person account of a life spent solving crimes: In his new book, Unmasked, Paul Holes recalls his career as a detective who solved high-profile cases such as the Golden State Killer (who murdered 13 people, among his other crimes). The forensic detective goes into detail about what to look for in cold cases and the psychology behind the crimes through his first-person perspective. Holes also delves into his experience in the field and how it felt to encounter these harsh realities every day. However, the book retains a feel of compassion and faith in humanity that balances the brutality of the cases he solved.

The EGX30 fell 0.9% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 637 mn (27.5% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 9.5% YTD.

In the green: Cleopatra Hospital (+4.6%) and CIB (+0.2%).

In the red: Abu Qir Fertilizers (-3.8%), Orascom Construction (-2.9%) and Fawry (-2.7%).

OUR FOUNDER OF THE WEEK- Mohamed El Shabrawy El Feky, co-founder and CEO of Sympl (LinkedIn).

My name is Mohamed El Shabrawy El Feky, and I’m the CEO and co-founder of Sympl. I studied architecture and urban design as an undergrad at Cairo University. Upon graduation, I explored different sectors including the telecom, automotive, and banking industries. Afterward, I joined EFG Hermes in 2017. My job at EFG was to build a fintech-based consumer finance company, valU. I stayed on as valU’s CEO for over a year, before launching a startup of my own: Sympl.

We established Sympl in August of 2021 and our soft launch took place in October of the same year. Sympl gives bank cardholders access to short-term, no-interest payment plans that cater to their preferences, without lengthy application processes. Our aim is to help make the lives of people easier by helping them optimize the management of their money. Our goal, through offering no-hassle deferred payment plans, is also to help businesses that utilize Sympl boost their sales.

I decided to build my own startup for several reasons. One of which was the lingering feeling that I had achieved all the milestones I had in mind for valU. We built the company from scratch, had acquired over 200k customers, and the company’s portfolio of transactions had exceeded EGP 1 bn before I left. When I achieved all the KPIs that I had set for valU, I felt like the level of innovation associated with my job as a CEO began to plateau. When valU had no more barriers to cross in terms of innovation, I felt the need to move on and build something new.

My age was also a big factor that led me to jump to the founder side of the fence. I’m in my forties, so when I felt like I had accumulated enough skills, and when I noticed a boom in investments for startups both regionally and locally, I became driven by a “ now or never” instinct to start my own business while I still could.

As the CEO of valU, I spotted gaps in the consumer finance market. The gap I decided to capitalize on is the lack of consumer finance players providing deferred payment options for small and medium-sized products and services for periods shorter than six months. I decided to address this problem and venture into the market with a business model that aims to fill this gap.

To focus on my entrepreneurial journey, I had to make a lot of sacrifices. I had to give up a lot of family time to focus on my business. I also ignored my own personal well-being. Dedicating so much time to my business ultimately meant having no time for exercising, reading, and socializing. This lifestyle is quite taxing. I'm starting to reap the negative physical side-effects of this unhealthy lifestyle. I intend to dedicate the entirety of my time to my family and my own well-being after two or so years.

As an engineer, the most exciting part of a startup’s evolution is the building phase. This is when innovation comes to life, and setting up, constructing, and challenging the business model with my co-founders always piques my interest. The worst part of the job is the management of the business model. The management side of the equation sees you competing against time to grow your business. Launching a new business model requires considerable market and consumer awareness to ensure its survival. Educating customers about your offering and the alternative approach it represents takes time.

For me, the founder’s journey is a lonely one. I’m the type of founder who is always consumed with all things related to their startup. I dwell on things that are not strictly part of my responsibilities. I worry about investors, the market, our partners, and our employees, even though I have a qualified team and capable co-founders.

We raised USD 6 mn in our seed round last year, bringing on board investors such as Beco Capital, A15, and Global Ventures. Our future funding plans remain unclear, but we will be preparing for another financing round by the end of the year. We still haven’t decided whether the upcoming financing round will be equity-based or debt-based.

If I had to do it all over again, I would still go down the investor route early on. I believe that bringing in the right partners accelerates the business on so many levels. Investors obviously bring capital to the table, but they also bring market insights, help you raise funds and form useful connections, provide emotional and professional support, and so much more.

Our short-term goal at Sympl is to prove our business model works. We’re focused on getting a proof of concept after one year of operating in the market. We’re also determined to gain considerable exposure in the market by the end of 2022. Our long-term goal is to become a market leader in the consumer finance arena locally, and to expand into different markets including Saudi Arabia, and possibly into central and western Africa.

A startup that I think is killing it is Paymob. Their success story as young entrepreneurs is inspirational. Paymob’s business model evolved considerably to include various offerings and it’s really impressive.

If I had the power to improve one thing in the local startup scene, I would focus on connecting local entrepreneurs with one another. I would love to see a national union or association for Egyptian founders. This would help entrepreneurs discuss the challenges they collectively face, explore partnerships, and find gaps in the market. Having an organization like this would turbocharge the local startup scene.