STARTUPS-

Cairo Angels is now the Acasia Group: Local investor outfit Cairo Angels has rebranded as Acasia Group, according to a press release (pdf). The group is made up of three entities: VC firm Acasia Ventures, startup events and programs coordinator Acasia Impact, and angel investor group Acasia Angels.

What they said: “The startup ecosystem has given us so much since our 2011 beginnings. As it grows in size and complexity, so must we. With Acasia, we honor our mission to support founders and make tech startup investing readily available, while capturing the top tier opportunity that Africa and the Middle East has become,” said our friend Hossam Allam, the group’s non-executive chair.

CORRECTION- 12 December, 2022

An earlier version misspelled Acasia Group. 

RETAIL-

Dior wants to set up shop here in two years: French luxury fashion brand Dior is planning to open retail outlets in Egypt in 4Q 2024, Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir said following a meeting with Jerome Baudy, president of Dior for Europe and the Middle East, cabinet said in a statement. The sit-down comes after Dior hosted its star-studded Pre-Fall Men 2023 runway show at the Giza Pyramids complex last weekend.

Shops are nice and all, but how about Dior makes its products here? Samir encouraged Baudy to invest in manufacturing some Dior products locally, highlighting our cheap operating costs, skilled labor, and affordable energy, the statement read.

MANUFACTURING-

European firms eye sugarcane ethanol factory: Italian, Indian, and French companies have submitted bids to build a EGP 1.5 bn sugarcane ethanol plant in partnership with a subsidiary of the state-owned Holding Company for Food Industries, Al Borsa reports.The subsidiary is also in talks with an unnamed Emirati investor to partner on a sugar factory in Tanzania, the newspaper reported separately.

Turkish garment maker Yesim’s Egyptian arm wants to invest as much as USD 70 mn to expand its operations, according to a cabinet statement.

Turkish retailer Beko broke ground on its USD 100 mn home appliances factory, according to a statement (pdf). The factory is set to produce 1.5 mn appliances annually. Some 60% of output will be exported to the EMEA region, generating as much as USD 250 mn in annual export revenue. Operations should kick off by 4Q 2023 at the 10th of Ramadan factory, which is the company’s first in the Middle East..

Kuwait’s Danah Fisheries plans to start building an EGP 100 mn seafood factory in Egypt by the end of next year, the company’s sales executive Mohamed El Qady reportedly told Al Borsa.

INFRASTRUCTURE–

EGP 1 bn phase of waste management program kicks off: The planning, environment and local development ministers signed an EGP 1 bn contract to implement the fourth phase of the nationwide waste management project, according to a statement. The government will build nine sanitary landfills across five governorates and remove 2.1 mn tons of piled-up waste under the contract.

NBFS-

Consumer finance players Adva and One Finance are partnering on installment payment plans for services available through Adva, including school tuition, healthcare, travel, and ins., according to a joint statement out Monday.