Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to a massive news day. The Madbouly government is driving the conversation in the business community this morning after the PM used an epic presser yesterday to go deep into weeds on how the government plans to attract USD 40 bn in private investment over the next four years.

Madbouly also said we’re looking at a new IMF program “within months.” Separately, Ittihadiya announced new measures yesterday designed to encourage growth of the country’s red-hot tech industry.

The good news doesn’t stop there: We’ve made a massive wheat buy from India despite New Delhi’s recently announced export ban. The shipment will further shore up food security in a nasty global climate — even without the Indian shipment, we’ve brought reserves back up to four months’ of demand from 2.6 months in April.

We have coverage of all of this and more in this morning’s news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s the second day of the US GreenTech business mission: More than 40 US companies are in Cairo for three days this week to discuss green investment and potential business partnerships in sectors ranging from energy to healthcare, agriculture, aviation, construction and water resource management. The high-level delegation will meet with members of the business community and senior government officials, including Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and other members of cabinet. The mission is being organized by AmCham and the US Chamber of Commerce.

US companies here on the visit signed two agreements yesterday:

• Waste management and renewable energy company Energy3 International signed an MoU with the Environment Ministry to build a recycling facility in Fayoum that will convert municipal and agricultural waste to biodiesel and biochar, preventing the emission of 500k tons of CO2 every year. Energy3i will now submit a proposed schedule to the ministry. (Cabinet | Energy3i)
• Environmental safety firm Okeanos signed an MoU with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly to build a USD 50 mn factory that will manufacture plastic alternatives from limestone. The facility will be set up by Okeanos Egypt — a joint venture with local company Income Egypt — and will produce environmentally-friendly alternatives to single-use plastics. The project is being billed as the first of its kind in Egypt. (Cabinet)

Libyan political negotiations are continuing in Cairo today: Rival officials kicked off a new round of talks in the capital yesterday under UN-backed efforts to pave the way for national elections and end the east-west divide that has split the country since 2014. The talks wrap up on Friday.

LATER THIS WEEK-

It’s interest rate week here at home: The Central Bank of Egypt will likely raise interest rates when it meets this Thursday, according to a near consensus of analysts and economists we surveyed last week. Six of the seven respondents see the Monetary Policy Committee going ahead with a rate hike to combat inflation and stem portfolio outflows, with five forecasting rates to rise by up to 200 bps.

HC Securities is the latest to predict a 200-bps hike, writing in a note yesterday that this would bring Egypt’s inflation-adjusted interest rate back into positive territory. The carry trade is “essential” to supporting foreign reserves amid a “massive” sell-off in emerging markets across the world, the firm’s head of macro and financials, Monette Doss, wrote.

MARKET WATCH-

The EUR could reach parity with the USD this year for the first time in two decades, after slumping to a five-year low near USD 1.03, Bloomberg reports, citing research from HSBC and RBC Capital Markets. The EUR has slumped amid fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war. The USD is serving as a haven amid market turmoil resulting from the war while the EUR has slumped on fears of everything from a ban on Russian natural gas to the ECB’s policy response and the prospect the Europe’s economy will go to hell in a handbasket.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Budget season is in full swing at the House: The House of Representatives will begin holding committee-level discussions of the draft FY 2022-23 budget and economic and social development plan this week, Ahram Online’s Gamal Essam El-Din reports. If approved, the budget will be signed into law by the president. Head here for a refresher on the draft budget’s key figures.

SOUND SMART- Our latest Enterprise Explains column has everything you need to know about how an Excel sheet turns into a budget, and then the law of the land.

Need to get your head around the new e-receipt system? Lynx Strategic Business Advisors are following up their recent webinar on e-invoicing with a session introducing the Finance Ministry’s new e-receipt system, which is set to officially roll out on 1 July. The webinar will feature FinMin tax development advisor Yasser Taymour, as well as reps from Talabat, Jumia, Yoco, and the World Bank. It takes place on 18 May at 12:00-1:30pm CLT. Register here.

Venture capital 101: The Egyptian Private Equity Association (EPEA) is hosting a paid crash course in all things venture capital at the Zamalek Marriott on 21-23 May. Led by Avanz Capital Egypt MD Hany Assaad, the three-day course will cover everything you need to know about Planet VC, from fund structures and portfolio-building to due diligence and valuations.

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

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed. Blackboard appears every Monday in Enterprise in the place of our traditional industry news roundups.

In today’s issue: We break down the government’s education budget for FY 2022-2023: The Madbouly government has allocated more than a quarter of its total spend to education, with more than EGP 550 mn earmarked for K-12, higher ed, and academic research — up nearly 23% from the current fiscal year.

But the state’s spending priorities have shifted: While the FY 2021-2022 investment budget was marked by a push for tech universities, this year sees the government putting more focus on plugging teacher and classroom shortages and developing school infrastructure.