PM — Dogs make everything good — even the office

Good afternoon, wonderful people, and welcome to the slowest newsday in our living memories — which no longer extend to before the pre-COP27 era. We hope you’re gently winding down into the weekend like we are.

REMEMBER- Tomorrow is the last day of COP (unless the conference is extended in order for delegates to reach the agreement that has so far eluded them.)

THE BIG STORY TODAY

The International Cooperation Ministry has signed nine cooperation agreements with Germany worth a combined EUR 160 mn, according to a ministry statement. Signed on the sidelines of COP27, the agreements include grants and loans for projects in waste management, irrigation and water conservation, education, infrastructure, public administration and digital transformation, and to boost competition in the private sector.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Good news for global grain markets: Russia has agreed to extend the UN- and Turkey-brokered pact to allow the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea amid the Russia-Ukraine war, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. The agreement — which was briefly halted by Russia earlier this month following a drone attack on its Black Sea fleet — had been set to expire on Saturday, 19 November. It’s not yet clear if the extension of the agreement was secured on the same terms or new ones, or for how long it will run.

From Sharm to the Grand Egyptian Museum — the business community will move the talk about a green transition ahead at the Enterprise Climate X Forum, which takes place at the Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, 6 December 2022. We can think of no better place to discuss the world’s most important industry than in a world-class museum that stands as a testament to our nation’s ability to persevere (and innovate) for seven millennia. And it seems you can’t either, judging by the responses and statements of support we’ve been getting.

What’s the Enterprise Climate X Forum? It’s our first industry-specific conference, where CEOs, top execs, investors, bankers and development finance folks have the chance to talk about how to build a climate-centered business — and how to make sure your business continues to have access to the funds it needs to grow. You can learn more on our conference website here.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, climate professional, DFI staff, investor or banker, please email us at climatexrsvp@enterprisemea.com to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work.

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

• Infinity, Hassan Allam Utilities and Masdar signed a framework agreement for a 2 GW green hydrogen plant that will be built in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and is set to be operational by 2026.
• Initial agreements for green hydrogen and wind power projects worth up to USD 119 bn were inked during COP27. We don’t have a clear breakdown on how they will be financed yet since the projects are still in the early stages of development.
• East Port Said port is getting bigger: A consortium made up of Sky Investments and Reliance Logistics will establish a USD 65 mn multi-purpose terminal at East Port Said port under a contract signed with the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

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Good news for Upper Egypt startups: Applications open today for Uplift4UpperEgypt — a startup program run by Orascom’s Gemini Enterprises Africa, in partnership with the Sawiris Foundation, aimed at businesses in Upper Egypt, according to Al Mal.

If you’re self-employed, you have to register in the Tax Authority’s e-invoice system by 15 December. This includes self-employed doctors, engineers, lawyers, and artists, the Egyptian Tax Authority said in a statement. Only e-invoices will be considered for VAT deduction or refunds as of 1 April, 2023.

What e-invoicing system? In late 2020, the Tax Authority launched a pilot program for B2B e-invoicing with 134 companies, before expanding the system to all large taxpayers in July 2021. All B2B and B2C invoices across the country should be fully automated by December. We have a primer on the system, its purpose, the timeline of implementation along with a list of phase one companies 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 mercury will rise to 25-27°C on Friday and Saturday, with nighttime lows in the 15-16°C range over the weekend, according to our favorite weather app.

Dog-friendly offices land in Japan: Tech giant Fujitsu is taking a leaf out of the Silicon Valley playbook and allowing dogs at one of its offices until the end of the year in a bid to encourage wellbeing and productivity, Bloomberg reports. The dog office comes replete with its own indoor play area and free dog food and is accessible by a dedicated elevator, so employees with allergies — or who just don’t like dogs (gasp) — can go about their business unbothered.

Prominent tech companies in the US made their offices dog-friendly years ago. Amazon has 4k doggos registered at its Seattle headquarters, while Meta, Lyft, Alphabet and Netflix also allow dogs at their offices. “We studied big tech firms in the US, and got the inspiration to create an office with a collaborative layout conducive to coming together, chit-chatting and brainstorming with each other,” Fujitsu Chief Human Resources Officer Hiroki Hiramatsu said.

Pups are good for business: According to a 2021 study published in the journal Animals, allowing dogs at the office can lower stress, foster cross-departmental interaction, and promote employee well-being. We already know this, as the proud extended family of several Enterprise puppers who come to hang out in the office on the regular.

​​​​Football legends warm up for their final World Cup waltz: Some of the greatest goal scorers and playmakers in the game's history, including football superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, are about to take part in their last World Cup, the Wall Street Journal points out. Along with Argentina’s Messi, 35, and Portugal’s Ronaldo, 37, we won’t see another World Cup featuring Croatia's Luka Modric and France's Karim Benzema (both of whom play for Real Madrid). One of those four players has been awarded every single annual Ballon d'Or award since 2007, given to the world's finest footballer.

Messi and Ronaldo aren’t the only giants who could be absent in 2026: Poland and Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, who has scored more than 550 goals in his career, is 34 and inching toward retirement. Former German boy-wonders Manuel Neuer in goal and Thomas Muller up forward, who together led their country to the 2014 World Cup, are also likely starting to think about life post-football. And Brazil's Neymar, who for years was the game's third-best player behind Messi and Ronaldo, said in a recent documentary about his life that he believes this will be his last World Cup. “The game will look different without them,” said former Italy striker Alessandro Del Piero.

Online bullying is taking a toll on children in the Middle East, according to findings of a poll by Cartoon Network Mena and YouGov, the National reports. More than half of 3k parents of children aged 6-12 surveyed in Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey said they had noticed an increase in cyberbullying. That could be higher than the global average, the UAE newspaper says, citing a UNICEF poll that suggests one in three children across 30 countries has been the victim of bullying. Kids in the four Middle East countries are most commonly bullied over their weight, lack of social skills, nationality, and not owning the must-have gadgets. Parents observed their kids struggle with low self esteem, anxiety, depression, anger, and in severe cases self-harm as a result of bullying. Cyberbullying accounted for more than half of all bullying in the region, according to the study.

The good news: Organizations and schools are grasping the know-how to rein in cyberbullying. A majority of parents said they thought their kids’ schools were doing everything in their power to prevent bullying. Cartoon Network Mena continues to collaborate with UNICEF Middle East and North Africa on a Buddy Network campaign, sparking conversations about the effects of bullying on mental health, and producing content to raise awareness on the topic.

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Wakanda Forever is resilient in the face of grief: In the sequel to Marvel's hit Black Panther, those seeking to destabilize the kingdom of Wakanda and steal its valuable vibranium seize the chance provided by the death of King T'Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman). Veteran director Ryan Coogler is astute enough to recognize that no sequel would ever be able to compensate for the tragic loss of Boseman, who died in 2020 at the age of 43 after a long battle with colon cancer. Coogler uses the sadness felt by Boseman's fans and coworkers alike to produce an unexpectedly sober film on the grieving process. While not everything is flawless, the emotional core is authentic, credible, and affecting. This is largely due to the outstanding performances of Letitia Wright as Shuri, T'Challa's younger sister, and Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, who must balance her grief with her responsibilities to her people. The movie is currently showing in theaters across Egypt (watch trailer: runtime, 2:10.)

⚽ Tick, tock, World Cup: As the world prepares for the biggest fixture on the global football calendar, the participating teams are warming up with a few friendlies before the real action kicks off. There are a few games to keep an eye on this weekend, starting with Jordan v Spain at 6pm this evening, followed by Portugal v Nigeria at 8.45pm.

On Friday at 5pm, our national team will be going up against Belgium. The match will take place in Kuwait, and the Pharaohs have landed there already.

The real deal kicks off next week: Qatar and Ecuador will get the 2022 World Cup underway on Sunday. The two teams will kick off at the 60k-capacity Al Bayt Stadium at 18:00 CLT after the opening ceremony (17:00 CLT), kicking off the tournament that will clog all of our sports feeds (and the EnterprisePM sports section) for the next four weeks.

** Keep your eyes on your inboxes tomorrow: We’ll be out with our guide to the tournament when we publish this month’s Your Wealth at the appointed hour on Friday morning.

JOIN US FOR OUR ENTERPRISE FANTASY WORLD CUP LEAGUE. Sign up with the code SZJ507VP to compete against other members of the Enterprise community. The top finisher will take home something special from us.

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If you’re looking for a dinner with a view, look no further: Located in the Fairmont Nile City Hotel, Gingko boasts impeccable Nile views. The outdoor terrace is covered in greenery, adding to the modern, airy ambiance. Standout menu items include the octopus carpaccio and the volcano shrimps, which are coated in crispy tempura batter and covered in spicy mayo dip. If you’re more of an early bird, Gingko also serves breakfast, giving you a choice between an American spread complete with hash browns, or a champagne breakfast of eggs benedict with smoked salmon. If you’re just looking to nibble, you can go for the charcuterie board, which offers a delicious array of cold cuts, cheese, pickles and charred bread.

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The seven-piece Tarek Raouf Ensemble is performing at Room Art Space Garden City tonight at 9pm. Some of the jazz composer and trumpet player’s original compositions will be performed.

Indie band Taht El Sefr and underground outfit Rocksea take the stage for rock night at Darb 1718, tomorrow night at 8pm.

Don’t miss the FunNation stand up comedy show at Makan tomorrow at 8pm, featuring a stacked lineup of comedians: Muaz Abdelsalam, Waleed El Tourkey, Amgad El Shawshy, Ahmed Magdy, Ahmed Emad, Mahmoud Hassan, and Mohamed Maher will take to the stage.

Think you can get a few laughs of your own? Try your hand at stand-up at Al Hezb El Comedy’s open mic night at Makan, Saturday at 7:30pm.

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Can’t get enough of climate talk? The How to Save the Planet podcast by environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth features motivating stories from the frontlines of the fight against climate change, as well as candid discussions of environmental issues and their potential solutions. The key message is that anybody with the will to chip in can have an impact in helping alleviate the climate crisis. Among our favorite episodes: “Want a green job?” breaks down how to earn an environmentally friendly living; and “How 17k individuals took Shell to court and won” tells the tale of a Dutch court’s historic order to make Shell cut its emissions. You’d be forgiven for taking a weekend off from climate discussion after the whirlwind that was COP — but when you’re ready, this podcast is a good way to ease back into the conversation.

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Therapists need therapy, too: Lori Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is a funny, warm and thought-provoking read that takes readers behind the scenes of her experience as both a therapist and patient. Gottlieb introduces us to a cast of characters drawn from the patients who come to her for help, all of whom — from a narcissistic Hollywood producer, to a suicidal senior citizen, to a twent-something woman struggling to navigate the dating scene — are ultimately struggling with the same core conundrums. Gottlieb also takes the reader with her into those sessions where she’s the one on the couch, introducing us to her own therapist — who has far more insight to offer than might at first be apparent. This is an intimate, accessible book that pulls back the curtain on the inner workings of human thinking and relationships, shedding light on life’s complexities and our power to overcome them.

CI Capital reported a 28% increase in revenues to EGP 2.5 bn in 9M 2022, it said in a statement (pdf) out this afternoon. Net earnings after tax and minority interest rose to EGP 486 mn, up 18% compared with the first nine months of 2021. The group’s investment bank “delivered solid results across all lines of business,” with investment banking revenues coming in at EGP 58 mn in 9M 2022. CI Capital’s non-bank financial services platform — including leasing firm Corplease, microfinance player Reefy, and CI Mortgage — also registered strong growth across revenues, net income, and new bookings.

^^ Look for full coverage of CI’s results in EnterpriseAM on Sunday as we wrap up 3Q earnings season.

The EGX30 rose 1.4% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 2.14 bn (45.9% above the 90-day average). Regional investors were net buyers. The index is up 4.7% YTD.

In the green: Eastern Company (+7.4%), Palm Hills Development (+5.2%) and CIB (+3.3%).

In the red: Ezz Steel (-2.3%), Madinet Nasr Housing (-2.0%) and Cleopatra Hospitals (-1.5%).

The fallout from the pandemic is hitting the bottomlines of Big Tech. A slowdown in consumer spending, rising inflation, and the strong USD hitting overseas sales have all contributed to a slowdown in Big Tech, reports Bloomberg. Tech stocks have been among the hardest hit amid a wider downturn in the stock markets, with Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, Apple, and Google shares all losing double-digit percentages off their value so far this year. The tougher conditions are leading tech firms to slash spending and make mass layoffs in an effort to tighten their belts.

Why? Tech companies surged during the pandemic, investing in new workers and data centers to support remote work, socialization and e-commerce as we all kept our eyeballs glued to online content (and the ads that accompany it). That bubble is deflating and Big Tech is seeing a resulting slowdown in revenue growth, as people return to offices and resume their social lives.

The macro environment is not as welcoming to growth stocks as it once was: High global inflation is forcing most central banks to make jumbo rate hikes, putting the brake on economies that were already slowing thanks to lingering post-pandemic supply chain snarls and an uncertain geopolitical outlook. Economists are generally forecasting that the coming recession will be short and not too severe — but that has done little to improve investor confidence in an industry that is investing in future technologies at a time when the old economy offers more certain prospects.

And then there are the self-inflicted wounds: Big Tech CEOs including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and new Twitter owner Elon Musk are spooking investors with risky pivots and chaotic PR. Meta investors are increasingly backing out as the company’s attempt to jump from social media into the metaverse and AI drains its funds. Meta’s market value has plunged nearly 70% so far this year as revenues fell short of analyst projections, costing founder Zuckerberg USD tens of bns in personal wealth. Musk’s Twitter takeover has spooked investors at both Twitter and Tesla, with Tesla stock dropping by half since Musk first announced the Twitter buy, and investors expressing concern about his all-nighters spent at the social media site. Musk has apparently spent the time working to plunge Twitter into uncertainty, with sudden policy changes and mass layoffs leading to an exodus of advertisers. Twitter investor Chris Sacca tweeted his doubts about Musk’s ability to manage the social media site earlier this month.

Big Tech is making big layoffs. Nearly 130k tech employees at some 814 companies lost their jobs this year, according to data from Layoffs.fyi, compared to 81k in 2020, Bloomberg reports. Meta cut 13% of its workforce, and around half of the Twitter team has left the building since Musk’s takeover last month. Stripe, Salesforce and Lyft have all laid off double-digit percentages of their workers and Google and Amazon have slowed down or frozen hiring, with Amazon reportedly planning to lay off as many as 10k employees.

Demand for tech products is falling short of expectations. Amazon shares dropped on its latest earnings release, as costs continued to rise quicker than its revenue and a projected slowdown in its holiday season earnings got investors worrying. In September, Apple ditched plans to expand production of its iPhone 14 as an expected spike in demand failed to materialize. For companies like Meta and Google, which rely on ads as a major source of revenue, high interest rates and tightening purse strings have affected ad revenues. US advertising investment dropped 5% y-o-y in September, marking a fourth consecutive month of declines, according to data from Standard Media Index.

A bursting bubble — or a reboot? Some analysts are comparing the fallout to the dot.com crash of the early 2000s, after a rout in more speculative tech stocks towards the beginning of the year spread even to the juggernauts of the industry. Others have called the current crisis a “reset” for an industry that has been flush with cash for over a decade. The fallout will force bigger companies to build some “frugality muscle” and increase international competition. It could also create space for new companies to flourish, with layoffs in the sector potentially birthing a new generation of entrepreneurs, Market Watch reports.

The global tech rout has also had an impact here at home. Local VC rounds dried up over the summer, we reported previously, dropping 30% in value according to our internal tracker. Down rounds — when a company sells shares at a lower price than its previous funding round — are increasingly common, while the downfall of local startup Capiter has some predicting that more young companies will face funding challenges. We’re hearing reports of layoffs across the sector.

This could be a chance to build stamina. Sequence Ventures Chairman Karim Helal was optimistic when we spoke to him about the slowdown, stressing that it may act as a reality check for Planet Startup, leading to fewer “but definitely better and more credible candidates for investments.” The trickling stream of VC funding is also putting asset light B2B e-commerce players in a stronger position than their asset heavy counterparts, as we’ve reported previously (here and here).