PM — Today is the deadline for joint stock companies and investment companies in Cairo to join the government’s e-invoicing platform.

A surprising slow news day so far, ladies and gentlemen, which kind of makes us wish we had our Christmas party today.

Nothing groundbreaking has happened on the local front so far except Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk’s comments at the Egypt Economic Summit, where he revealed that the government is in talks to line up more development finance funding for green projects. The government is looking to have green projects make up half of all new projects by 2024 from a current 30%, Kouchouk said, according to the local press.

PSA- Today is the deadline for joint stock companies and investment companies in Cairo to join the government’s e-invoicing platform. As of today, more than 3.7k companies in the capital will be required to be on the system and start issuing electronic invoices for B2B transactions. Some 2.8k large taxpayers have signed up to the Finance Ministry’s new digital platform over several phases going back to November 2020.

Edita is still working to complete due diligence on its acquisition of the Ole brand owner Egyptian Belgian Company, officials at the company we reached out to told Enterprise. Edita previously said it expected to wrap up due diligence on the acquisition by today.

Will USD 100 mn for SME funding from the EBRD be getting a sign off today? The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is expected to give its final approval for a USD 100 mn facility to state-owned Banque Misr to finance local SMEs working on green projects.

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Fed finger hovers over the fast-forward button: The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a doubling of the speed at which it plans to taper its stimulus program, as well as officials’ support for two interest rate increases next year, and three or four more hikes in 2023, the Financial Times reports. The US central bank’s policy statement and projections are expected to be released at around 9pm Cairo time, after it wraps up its two-day December meeting.

The Fed’s hawkish turn has traders spooked: After more than a year of easy gains, Fed head Jay Powell’s increasing seriousness on inflation has seen the markets start to wobble, Bloomberg reports. Certain key exchange traded funds (ETFs), as well as Bitcoin and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 start to wobble, with the latter posting 7 losses in its last 13 sessions

The BoE and ECB will each be holding their rate meetings tomorrow: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde finds herself in the unenviable position of reckoning with record inflation at the same time as growth is hit by a rapid spread of Omicron in several eurozone economies. She is expected to stick to her call that price hikes are transitory, while announcing a winding-down of some covid stimulus measures come next spring. Meanwhile, the Bank of England will come under increased pressure to raise rates tomorrow after the release of new figures today, showing that UK inflation hit its highest in a decade in November.

REMINDER- Tomorrow is also Egypt’s final interest rate meeting of 2021: All 11 economists and analysts we surveyed expect the Central Bank of Egypt’s MonetaryPolicy Committee to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets this Thursday for its final gathering of the year. The still-unfolding situation with the Omicron variant is giving policymakers everywhere pause and a lower-than-expected November inflation reading could give the MPC some breathing room.

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

• The Aldar / ADQ consortium and SODIC are now hitched: Emirati real estate giant Aldar Properties and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ officially took ownership of 85.5% of SODIC’s shares after the acquisition was executed during yesterday’s EGX trading session.
• Danone is looking to invest EGP 1 bn in Egypt over the next five years, which would double the company’s total investments in the country.
• CBE offers support for distressed SMEs: Financially-distressed SMEs at risk of default will be given more time to settle their debts under a raft of new decisions the Central Bank of Egypt announced this week.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Biden keeps the ball rolling on US China boycotts: The White House is set to add eight further Chinese companies — including the world’s largest commercial dronemaker, DJI —to its “Chinese military-industrial complex companies” blacklist on Thursday, the Financial Times reports, citing two sources briefed on the decision. The eight companies have all allegedly beein involved in surveillance of China’s Uyghur Muslim population. The US has in recent weeks stepped up policy measures against China over its persecution of the minority group in China’s Xinjiang region, with the House of Representatives yesterday passing legislation that would ban imports from the region. Biden will now sign the bill into law — but the White House will also have to grapple with further potential disruption to global supply chains and Democrats’ renewable energy plans, with Xinjiang counting among the biggest producers of solar panel components, Reuters reports.

It’s otherwise fairly quiet on the global front pages — other than that brewing war between Russia and NATO over Ukraine. The European Council has prepared a set of sanctions against Russia and is ready to take “unprecedented measures with serious consequences” if Moscow does not de-escalate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech today. Russia has been amassing troops on its border with Ukraine and could be planning to invade the country as early as next year, according to US intelligence, sparking the ire of the G7. Meanwhile, the US has been less forthright than Europe, opting to use “diplomatic concession” in attempts to dissuade Moscow from its plans.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UN Convention Against Corruption in Sharm El Sheikh is on its third day today. The event wraps this coming Friday, 17 December.

The Arab Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Aswan is underway and runs until tomorrow.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Cold days ahead: The mercury has dipped under the 20°C mark and is staying there for the next week. Expect a daytime high of 19°C tomorrow and a nighttime low of 11°C, our favorite weather app tells us.

Elon Musk is sweeping the Person of the Year awards: The Financial Times named Tesla’s Elon Musk its person of the year for 2021 today, just a few days after Time Magazine announced that Musk would be awarded the same accolade. While one person-of-the-year award could be a fluke, two suggests a pattern. Leading us to ponder: could it be that Musk really is as special as he thinks he is?

Musk has undoubtedly had a big year, becoming the world’s richest person as the US stock market boom saw Tesla’s valuation pass USD 1 tn. And while he reportedly works a 90-hr week between Tesla and his beyond-Earth endeavors at SpaceX, the b’naire still found time — primarily while perched on his “porcelain throne” — to play havoc with the crypto markets, pick fights with US regulators on taxes, and suggest that creating a big family (Musk has seven children) is a civic duty because “Mars has a great need for people, seeing as population is currently zero.”

Critics lashed out at the choice: Musk tends to inspire rage, mirth and adulation in equal measure—and the Time announcement was followed by a swift and inevitable backlash. Critics took to social media to highlight Musk’s many flaws, with some saying the magazine had made its “worst choice ever” given Musk’s sub-optimal attitude to tax, opposition to unions and minimization of the pandemic.

But Twitter shenanigans aside, just how revolutionary is Tesla? Musk is easy to mock. But the Time award aims to identify “the person who had the most influence on the events of the year, for good or for ill.” This was the year that saw Tesla vindicated in its dogged insistence that EVs are commercially viable, as every automaker and their mother piled into the market with announcements on their all-electric futures. Plenty of Musk-followers argue that no other b’naire can rival Musk for manufacturing intelligence — but more than that, Musk possesses a single-mindedness that has seen the car company build a serious, revenue-generating market for electric vehicles, surviving a decade of naysaying from traditional carmakers before they were forced to concede. Now the shift to EVs, spearheaded by Musk, is set to impact global transport and climate for generations to come — and that, the FT says, is what makes him 2021’s biggest fish.

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Climate tech investments are booming: Global investment in climate tech grew 210% y-o-y to USD 87.5 bn in the 12 months ending in June, according to PwC’s State of Climate Tech 2021 report. Innovative funding mechanisms including SPACs drew new inflows to climate tech, the report says, as investors looked to deploy dry powder stored up from the year before.

Around USD 0.14 of every USD 1 of VC funding went towards climate tech in 2H2020 and 1H2021, according to the report. Meanwhile, the average ticket price for each investment almost quadrupled on a yearly basis, hitting USD 96 mn in the first half of 2021. New investors also rushed into the field, rising to number 1.6k in 1H2021, compared with less than 900 in the first half of 2020. The report defines climate tech as anything that directly mitigates or removes emissions, helps people adapt to the impacts of climate change, or enhances our understanding of the climate, according to PwC.

There’s a big ‘but’: investments aren’t going to the places where they would have the most impact. Of the 15 types of climate tech covered by the report, the top five — solar power, wind power, food waste technology, green hydrogen production, and alternative foods — are the world’s biggest hope for reducing climate risk, representing over 80% of future emissions reduction potential, according to PwC. But those sectors only received only 25% of climate tech investments between 2013 and 2021. Meanwhile, the flashier and more lucrative mobility and transportation sector received the lion’s share of funding at USD 58 bn.

In other words: enough with the electric vehicles, flying taxis, and e-scooters. The report calls on VCs and policymakers to “better channel and incentivize investment in technology areas that have the greatest future emissions reduction potential,” giving us pause for yet another rethink on the whole just-how-great-is-Elon-Musk debate.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

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One of the most profound modern Arabic movies has made its way to Netflix: This film left us speechless in its depiction of the ideologies that engulfed Egypt during the 2011 revolution. Clash, directed by the ingenious Mohamed Diab, is a claustrophobic affair, taking place almost exclusively in the back of a police vehicle. People from different backgrounds are rounded up and held in the confined space, forced by their proximity to interact amid rising tensions. Even the camera itself seems to become a prisoner as the film shows the internal battles each person is facing, as well as the emotional wars they wage against each other. But as Clash slowly and naturalistically reveals each character’s story and how it brought them to where they are now, the people in the police car begin to see more of what makes them similar, instead of focusing on what sets them apart.

While some of us at Enterprise describe this film as a must-watch, others don’t feel the same. Clash is definitely a controversial film that impacts different people in different ways. It’s part touching, part insightful, and part sad, and depending on your experiences, you might feel one part more deeply than the other — or something else entirely.

⚽ Egypt plays in the Arab Cup today: The eyes of the Egyptians are on Doha’s Stadium 974 today to watch Tunisia's match against Egypt in the Arab Cup semi-final at 5pm. Egypt booked its ticket to the match by defeating Jordan 3-1, while Tunisia beat Oman 2-1. On the other side of the semi-finals, host Qatar will compete with Algeria at 9pm. The victors of the two matches will meet in the Arab Cup final next Saturday, while the defeated teams will also play the same day in a match to decide the third place team.

There are four matches in gameweek 17 of the English Premier League today. Three of which start at 9:30pm: Brighton will play against Wolves, Burnley against Watford, and Crystal Palace against Southampton. As for the last match, Arsenal and West Ham will compete at 10pm.

Champions League — After a dramatic draw and redraw for the round of 16 on Monday we finally know who’s playing who: Paris Saint Germain will face Real Madrid, RB Salzburg v FC Bayern, Sporting CP v Manchester City, Benfica v Ajax, Chelsea v Lille, Atletico Madrid v Manchester United, Villarreal v Juve and Inter v Liverpool. The round of 16 will kick off on 15 February and will keep going until 16 March.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

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It’s opening night for Spider-Man: No Way Home in Egyptian cinemas nationwide. Early reviews are divided on whether the latest superhero film delivers its usual bang (we’ll give you our personal opinion in tomorrow’s EnterprisePM). You can check out the showtimes for cinemas screening the film on elcinema.com.

Zar performers Mazaher Ensemble are taking the stage at Downtown’s Makan tonight at 8pm. Mazaher members Um Sameh, Um Hassan and Nour el Sabah are among the last remaining Zar practitioners in Egypt; their polyrhythmic drumming combines three musical styles of the ritualistic Zar tradition.

You may have meditated, but have you meditated in a salt cave? That’s exactly what Phi Salt Cave’s event today promises at their session in Sheraton, Heliopolis at 7pm. Tickets cost EGP 150 and advance registration is required.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Meerkats, bees, and penguins can provide lessons on how to scale your business: Building useful and innovative software has become easier — but there’s a big leap between building a product, and making it a business success. How to scale smart is the topic of Andrew Chen’s new book The Cold Start Problem. Chen, who was an Uber exec before becoming an investor at VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, says companies should utilize “the network effect,” commonly explained by the fact that networks (for example, users of an app) grow exponentially. Chen’s theory of networking is derived from nature as opposed to the business world, as he looks at the mathematics of animal populations to understand the life cycles of networks.

The meerkat theory: If a mob of meerkats is too small, the creatures get picked off by predators. When the mob grows in size, the small animals become a formidable opponent. But too much growth can also be disadvantageous, as the meerkat mob overeats and depletes the surroundings, leading the critters to their own demise. The interplay between growing too slow and growing too fast is as much of an ecological predicament as it is a business one, Chen explains, and you can draw from success stories in both fields to learn how to create efficient networks that will save your mob/business.

MARKET NEWS-

Heliopolis Housing and Development Company’s (HHD) losses widened to EGP 75.2 mn in 3Q2021, falling 82% y-o-y, according to the company’s financials (pdf). The company’s revenues came in at a negative, reporting a loss of EGP 41.7 mn, compared to bringing in EGP 38.3 mn during the same period last year. HHD explained that its negative revenue came as a result of revoking contracts for properties that were sold on a specific plot of land in New Heliopolis City during the quarter. The properties were then re-sold in November 2021, and the figures will be reflected in the company’s next quarterly financial statement.

Arafa Holdings’ consolidated net earnings fell 81% in 3Q2021, recording USD 2.3 mn, according to the company’s latest financial statement (pdf). The firm’s revenues, however, increased to USD 52.9 mn from USD 30.1 mn during the same period last year. The company's fiscal year starts on 1 February, meaning its third quarter spans August-October.

MARKET ROUNDUP-

The EGX30 rose less than 0.1% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.19 bn (14.2% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 7.2% YTD.

In the green: Credit Agricole Egypt (+4.1%), Madinet Nasr Housing (+3.9%) and Ibnsina Pharma (+3.0%).

In the red: Speed Medical (-4.3%), Heliopolis Housing (-2.5%) and CIRA (-2.2%).

Human beings may not be antiquated after all: That the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning is lessening the need for human labor in a number of industries is a fact straight from the Department of the Obvious. From shopping recommendations to potential love interests, algorithms are stepping in to do the job more efficiently and effectively.

What might be less clear in our tech-obsessed age is that there is such a thing as algorithmic overkill, and companies are starting to wake up to consumer demand for services that are delivered with a more human touch, writes the Wall Street Journal.

Dating sites are all over this: Dating platform, The League, hires exclusively Ivy League graduates as matchmakers to set up singles together, in what they call “intelligent dating”, according to the New York Times. The League targets the ‘overly-ambitious’ who have high standards and don’t want to wait for other dating apps to waste their time with never-happening matches. Instead, the platform’s elite matchmakers only offer five potential matches who promise to give you the power-couple experience, claiming to be 1,082 times more efficient than other leading dating apps. Meanwhile, Match Group is currently testing a human matchmaking service to its Match app and will provide two handpicked matches for users willing to pay USD 4.99 a week, reported the Wall Street Journal. The company has trained a 50-member team to be dating coaches that can utilize members’ answers to questions to suggest suitable life partners. Match told the WSJ that users were eight times more likely to match when using the service.

Side note: Are we going to see this kind of matchmaking in Egypt soon? Match acquired Egypt-based matchmaking app Harmonica back in 2019. The app aims to help local singles find life partners while still being respectful towards local traditions and cultures. Maybe rolling out the human matchmaking service here in Um El Donia could be a throwback to the Tant Fawzias in our life playing cupid.

Online styling services are also capitalizing on the human eye for fashion: Instead of depending on the ‘recommended for you’ tabs on sites such as Amazon while shopping for clothes, online styling services promise that a specialized person will style you instead. How it works: users answer a number of questions about their clothing habits such as what colors they like to wear and their material preferences, and are then assigned a stylist who suggests outfits. Stitch Fix is one of these services, coupling human stylists with users who are looking for clothes outside of their comfort zone. The company then sends the picks to the user in ‘style boxes’ and people can choose what they want to keep and what they’d like to send back, paying a service fee for the styling. Online styling services are definitely picking up steam, with other firms, including Le Tote, Wantable, and Nordstrom’s Trunk Club, also offering the same service. YouTuber Safiya Nygaard has a video comparing all four styling services, in case you’re interested (watch, runtime: 17:36).

It’s definitely a trend when there’s a term coined: Human-to-human (H2H) business models are becoming increasingly popular. However, no firm can afford to fully give up technology and automation at this point, so the challenge becomes finding the right balance between the two, according to Talent Culture. H2H businesses offer specialized human interaction but use technology to make them more efficient. MIT’s Business Review pushes the same idea, calling for better “human-machine partnerships”. These automated processes can help businesses scale but firms have to be “open-minded to this concept of rebalancing the work between human beings and the machine environments that exist both logically and physically,” John Roese, global chief technology officer at Dell Technologies, told the Review.