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Monday, 18 April 2022

THIS EVENING: We’ve got a ton of holidays coming up + Infinity rolls out seven charging stations for the first time in the Delta

Happy Monday, friends, and welcome to what’s shaping up to be another unusually quiet Ramadan afternoon.

IT’S HOLIDAY SEASON- Next Monday, 25 April will be a national holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day and Sham El Nessim, the Madbouly Cabinet confirmed in a statement.

The entirety of the following week will be off: Cabinet also confirmed that the public sector will be off from Saturday, 30 April through Thursday, 5 May in observance of Labor Day and Eid Al Fitr, according to a statement. Labor Day falls on Sunday, 1 May and Eid is typically a three-day holiday.

What’s next: Look for separate announcements from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the EGX, and the Manpower Ministry confirming these holidays for the nation’s banks, the bourse, and the private sector. Coptic Easter — which is typically a banking holiday — falls on Sunday, 24 April. Expect the CBE to confirm the day will be off just for the banking sector in the coming days.

SO, WHEN DO WE EAT? You’ll be breaking your fast at 6:24pm CLT this evening in the capital city, and fajr prayers are at 3:54am.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

Our friends at renewable energy industry leader Infinity have rolled out seven new electric vehicle charging stations in the Delta region, according to a press release (pdf). This marks the company’s first entry into the Delta, and makes Infinity the only company to have rolled out charging stations in the region. The charging stations include a total of 20 charging points across Shebin El Kom, Mansoura, and Damietta.

Southeast Asian non-banking financial institution LOLC Group has acquired 100% of nonprofit Aga Khan Development Network’s The First Microfinance in an EGP 80.25 mn transaction last week, company CEO Ahmed Kamal El Din told Enterprise, confirming a report from Al Mal. The acquisition, which marks LOLC Group’s first entry into Egypt, will see the firm introduce new services — including microins., micro-leasing and consumer finance — starting 2023, Kamal El Din told us. Our friends at EFG Hermes managed the acquisition.

^^We’ll have more on these stories and others in tomorrow morning’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Ukraine has completed a questionnaire as a starting point for its EU membership process, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, Ihor Zhokva, told Ukraine’s public broadcaster yesterday evening, Reuters reports. The country now expects to be qualified as a candidate in June. “We expect the recommendation … to be positive, and then the ball will be on the side of the EU member states,” Zhokva is quoted as saying. The European Council is set to meet June 23-24th. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had earlier this month sent the questionnaire to Ukraine, promising to “accelerate” the process for Ukraine’s bid to become a member of the EU.

This comes as the fighting on the ground continues, as Russian forces attacked Ukrainian military targets and separate areas in Lviv in Ukraine’s west. The attacks in Lviv have left seven dead, according to the Associated Press.


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

  • House Planning Committee to review 2022-2023 draft budget: The House of Representatives voted in plenary session yesterday to send the draft FY 2022-2023 budget to the budget and planning committee.
  • Saudi tech firm Brmaja moves to consolidate its presence here: Brmaja IT, an Egyptian subsidiary of Saudi Arabian tech firm Brmaja Group, has signed an MoU to acquire Brmaja Commercial, one of the group’s KSA subsidiaries.
  • Exporters to receive more of their overdue subsidies: Exporters in the fourth phase of the government’s program to repay overdue subsidies will see only 8% deducted from subsidies on shipments made from July last year, down from a previous 15% haircut.

FOR TOMORROW- Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar will address AmCham’s pre-annual general meeting and iftar tomorrow at 6-8pm at the Nile Ritz Carlton. Abdel Ghaffar will speak on investment in the nation’s healthcare and pharma sectors.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

PSA- You only have three days left to file your ESG report: EGX-listed companies and all non-bank financial services outfits regardless of listing status need to submit their first quarterly ESG questionnaire by this Wednesday, 20 April. The regulator is making it mandatory for corporates to publicly disclose their performance on key environmental, social and governance metrics each year when they submit their annual financial statements, starting 2023. Reach out to Moustafa Taalab at InkankIR, our parent company, if you need some help.

Entrepreneurs from across Africa have until 6 June to apply to startup competition Africa’s Business Heroes, which is backed by the Jack Ma foundation, according to a press release (pdf). The top 10 businesses in the competition will earn a shared pot of USD 1.5 mn.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a daytime high of 30°C and a nighttime low of 14°C, our favorite weather app tells us.

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.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.