Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the final workweek of February. Thank you, once more, for the honour of writing you each weekday morning. Russia plays heavily in this morning’s news amid word that Moscow is making some 300 mn doses of its Sputnik V vaccine available to the African Union — and confusion over whether direct flights to Sharm and Hurghada are back back on.

*** CATCH UP QUICK- The top stories from Thursday’s edition of EnterprisePM:

• Egypt’s first oil and gas bid round of 2021 is now live, with 24 onshore and offshore blocks up for grabs.
• Natgas filling station operators appear to be getting a package of incentives, courtesy of the Central Bank of Egypt.
• Credit Agricole and NBK Egypt are planning capital hikes this year to meet CBE requirements.

PSA- It’s looking like a clearer, drier start to the week. Expect sunny skies with cloudy periods and a daytime high of 19°C in the capital city. Alex is also looking at a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 17°C. The national weather service is calling for coastal showers along the North Coast and Sinai.

THINGS TO KEEP YOUR EYE ON- The FRA wants EGX-listed non-bank financial services players to get serious about anti-money laundry: EGX-listed NBFS houses and companies regulated by the Financial Regulatory Authority need to draft an internal manual outlining rules and controls to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, according to a statement carried by Youm7. The rulebook needs to outline a mechanism to identify suspicious transactions and an internal audit structure, among other requirements.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

ESG investing for Egyptian businesses: AmCham is hosting a webinar on investing for social and environmental impact tomorrow. Guest speakers include Qalaa Holdings’ Chief Sustainability and Marketing Officer Ghada Hammouda, Catalyst Partners co-founder Abdelaziz Abdel Nabi, executive advisor to the chairman of Egyptian Arab Land Bank Hanaa Al Hilaly, and Investia Capital Group Chairman Samir Al Alayli.

Madbouly to chat with the business community: AmCham and the Egypt-US Business Council will host a webinar headlined "Egypt: 2021 and Beyond" this Thursday, 25 February. Guest speaker Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly will talk about Egypt’s strategy to mitigate the effects of the global downturn as well as the country’s future plans to maintain economic growth.

Fintech startups can join a three-day “innovation sprint” in March organized by the central bank and the Financial Regulatory authority. The focus is on prototype fintech that can be rolled out to help overcome the challenges presented by the pandemic, the central bank said in a statement (pdf) last week. Applications closed on Friday.