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Wednesday, 24 February 2021

What we’re tracking on 24 February 2021

Good morning, friends. We have a rather stacked issue for you today, so let’s get right to it.

THE BIG STORY AT HOME is that the next phase of our vaccination program is getting underway next week, when elderly citizens and those with chronic illnesses will be able to sign up to get their jab. All the details are in this morning’s Covid Watch, below.

THE BIG STORY INTERNATIONALLY is US Federal Reserve boss Jay Powell’s pledge to keep interest rates low to prop up the country’s economic recovery, saying in a testimony to Congress yesterday that “the economic recovery remains uneven and far from complete, and the path ahead is highly uncertain.” Inflation remains “soft,” Powell said, but the Fed’s focus will be bolstering job growth. Powell’s statement helped US tech stocks claw back some of their losses yesterday, with the S&P 500 ending the day in the green after falling 1.8% in intraday trading. Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal have the story.

Did you apply to get your old car swapped out under the government’s natgas auto program? You’ll be hearing back on whether your vehicle is eligible for replacement on 15 March as the Trade and Industry Ministry sifts through applications, El Watan reports. Applicants were originally set to hear back by mid-February but the ministry has pushed the timeline due to high demand for the program. The Sisi administration has a multi-year plan to convert or replace 1.8 mn cars to run on natural gas in a bid to reduce dependence on petrol-fuel.

If you or your spawn is an American Diploma high school student, register for the standardized Egyptian Scholastic Test before 9pm CLT tomorrow. That’s the deadline to register for the exam, which will replace the SAT for admission into Egyptian universities, according to an Education Ministry statement. The deadline was previously 15 February.

*** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from yesterday’s edition of EnterprisePM:

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

HAPPENING TODAY- Calling all exporters: Learn how to navigate the new Nafeza pre-registration customs system at this webinar hosted by the Food Export Council and the Customs Authority. The event takes place today at 12pm CLT. Tap or click here to register.

The Afro Future Summit is taking place tomorrow. The summit will be held virtually.

The Egypt International Art Fair also kicks off tomorrow at Dusit Thani Lakeview Cairo, and is set to wrap on Saturday, 28 February.

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly is talking about Egypt’s economy in a webinar held by AmCham and the Egypt-US Business Council tomorrow at 4pm. The event, headlined "Egypt: 2021 and Beyond," will have Madbouly tackling Egypt’s strategy to curb the effects of the global downturn as well as revealing the country’s future plans to maintain economic growth.

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

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*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: Enterprise’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, urban development and as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) — along with other state-run funds from several countries in Africa — is being called to invest up to 5% of its capital in a planned pan-African infrastructure fund. The goal? To plug the continent’s annual infrastructure funding deficit of USD 60-90 bn, and finance the building of roads, power plants, and railways. Boosting Africa’s regional infrastructure is key to making use of the recently-launched African Continental Freetrade Agreement (AfCFTA), which brings together 24 countries in a pan-African freetrade bloc.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

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