Friday, 3 March 2023

Enterprise Weekend — The one where we declare war on telemarketers + how to pay your traffic fines online

TL;DR

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to Day Five of this unexpected March heatwave. Grab your shades, your sunblock, and your swimsuits, and head out for a nice pool day while you can.

Enterprise Weekend comes out each Friday at 9:00am CLT. We’ll be back on Sunday at 6am with EnterpriseAM. Until then: Enjoy the weekend.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

It was a mixed bag of nuts in the news this week, with plenty of diplo and investment updates to keep us busy — and some not-so-good news for our public purse and projected inflation.

We made some progress in our quest for investment, but no breakthroughs: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly led a delegation of cabinet ministers and other officials on a two-day visit to Qatar this week to discuss the Gulf country’s plans to invest in Egypt. The message to the Qataris: Egypt is well on its way out of an economic and FX crisis — and we’re willing to listen to your ideas if it opens the door to fresh investment. Some action points out of the visit:

  • An Egyptian-Qatari investment fund with “large paid in-capital” is in the works;
  • Three Qatari conglomeratesInvestment Holding Group, Al Qamra Holding Group, and Aamal Company — could eventually invest in our healthcare sector under three separate MoUs;
  • A customs agreement could be signed soon, following a dual taxation agreement the two sides signed to scrap double taxation and crack down on tax evasion.

REMEMBER- Doha last year pledged to invest USD 5 bn to help Egypt shore up its external position following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but is yet to pull the trigger on any major investments, including the acquisition of a stake in Vodafone Egypt and two container terminal operators. Disputes reportedly revolve around the sizes of the stakes.

ANOTHER BIG DIPLO MOMENT- Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry became the first Egyptian diplomat to make official visits to Syria and Turkey in a decade after he flew to the two earthquake-hit countries for talks with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.


ON THE ECON SIDE OF THINGS-

The EGP devaluation and rising rates lead gov’t to project a miss of our deficit + debt-to-GDP forecasts for FY 2022-2023: The Finance Ministry now expects the budget deficit to rise to 6.8% of GDP this year, rather than 6.1%, and debt-to-GDP ratio to increase to 93%, up from an earlier 84% target.

The government hiked fuel prices, with petrol rising 7-11% (95-octane fuel will now cost you EGP 11.50 per liter) and the cost of mazut increasing by 20% for most buyers. The hike is expected to drive inflation up over the next few months.

ALSO- The ongoing FX shortage + import restrictions continued to lead headlines: Auto sales fell once again in January amid the ongoing FX crunch and import restrictions, while some banks were reported to have halted L/Cs and documentary collection.


AS FOR INVESTMENT- We had a flurry of fresh news:

  • Egypt, the UAE, Jordan and Bahrain signed agreements to establish nine joint industrial projects at an investment cost of USD 2 bn, as part of the regional industrial partnership set up last year;
  • Egypt Kuwait Holding also pledged to invest some USD 170 mn in the Egyptian market in 2023.
  • The Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF) plans to reinvest around USD 20-50 mn from the proceeds of its sale of a stake in local snackmaker Auf Group in local businesses and funds this year, and hopes to deploy up to USD 100 mn in total within the next two to three years.

It was a quiet week on the M&A front, with just two stories of note: The board of EGX-listed Edita Food Industries agreed to submit a bid to acquire 100% of an unnamed, unlisted company in the local food industry. Meanwhile, e-Finance is reportedly in advanced talks with a local strategic investor looking to buy into an EGP 2.5 bn capital increase for one of its subsidiaries.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

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We’re getting plenty of updated economic indicators next week, including:

  • The PMI, out on Sunday: We’ll be waiting to see how Egypt’s non-oil private sector performed in February, after activity in the sector contracted for the 26th consecutive month in January on the back of persistent inflation and the FX shortage. We hope that the impact of import restrictions getting scrapped may have started filtering through to businesses, which could potentially see the index contract at a slower pace.
  • Inflation figures, out EOW: Inflation — which hit a fresh five-year-high in January — is likely to have risen further, as factors like the devaluation and heightened demand ahead of Ramadan drive prices up.
  • Foreign reserves: Reserves have been on a gentle upward slope the past five months and are now up by more than USD 1 bn since the end of August. Reserves fell 20% last spring on the back of the war in Ukraine and tightening financial conditions globally.

ALSO- Our friends at EFG Hermes Holding are hosting their annual One on One investor conference in Dubai next week. It’s the largest frontier and emerging markets investor conference globally.

Stay tuned for our coverage of the event, which gathers global investors as well as CEOs, C-suite execs and IR folks from hundreds of global companies to get insights on their appetite and their economic forecasts for the year ahead.

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

???? YOUR MOST CLICKED LINKS-

  • We’re very happy to report that a lot of you were interested in our exports + FDI event. (Registration page)
  • We were also delighted to see continued interest in our Enterprise Guide on the kinds of cars you can actually buy right now. (Enterprise)
  • Some of you seem interested in applying to the LSE-Sawiris Scholarship Program, judging by the number of people who wanted to know more about the info session that was held for the program last week. (Registration page)
  • A lot of you wanted to know where Societe Generale sees the EGP heading. (Bloomberg)
  • Some of you seem to have your eyes on Chinese automaker Dongfeng’s E70 500 Pro electric vehicles, which just launched in the Egyptian market. (pdf)

???? AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

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Most eyes were on Russia and Ukraine this past week as we hit the one-year mark for the war, with coverage on the Saudi foreign minister’s surprise visit to Kyiv, Washington’s latest warning to Beijing against providing arms to Russia and the ways the war has impacted the European continent getting top billing.

Also getting attention: Nigeria’s ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu is now the country’s president-elect following disputed elections. Over in the UK, a post-Brexit Northern Ireland trade agreement struck by the government and the EU got significant attention.

And Microsoft’s still shoving its AI-powered Bing down our throats, despite all the threats its alter ego (Sydney? Venom?) has posed to users. The tech giant said it plans to roll the upgraded search engine out to its Windows operating system.

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- It’s pool day weather: Temperatures are going to hit 34°C today and 31°C tomorrow. Don’t forget to keep a jacket on hand though — the mercury will drop at night to lows of 12-13°C.

THE ENTERPRISE GUIDE

How to find out how much you owe in traffic tickets — and pay them online

Find out + pay your dues in traffic fines in less than three minutes: Years ago, the only way to find out how much you owed in traffic tickets was by going to your local traffic unit or post office, handing over your national ID and car license, and then forking over whatever money was required. It was not typically a fast process, to say the least…

Then the government went on a digitization drive. Today, if you don’t have the time during the week to handle traffic fine payments (let alone the patience to deal with Mme. Afaf at the traffic unit), you can easily pay your dues from the comfort of your couch.

Let’s face it — bureaucratic errands are best done online: While the post office is a relatively easy place to get your government-related documents done (compared with other government offices), you’d still need to go out of your way to locate your nearest post office and get there mid-week before they close. Working hours vary by branch, but most post offices open at 8am and close between 3-6pm on weekdays, according to Egypt Post representatives. Only a few post offices — including the one at City Stars — operate for longer hours and during the weekends, they said.

THE SOLUTION: Visit the Public Prosecution for Traffic Services website and find out exactly how much you owe, and pay on the spot. (The website is Arabic only, so grab an Arabic-enabled parent or a friend if that’s going to be an obstacle for you.)

All you need to do is go to the Inquiries (or Este’lamat) tab on the website, and choose whether you’d like to check fines for your car license or your personal driving license. If you’re paying personal fines, fill out your license info (including your license number, your governorate, and licensing unit). If you’re paying vehicle fines, just fill in your plate number.

You can also see photos of your car caught in the act: You can get details on each traffic ticket (including where you were slapped with the fine and what exactly you did wrong) by clicking or tapping on your ticket and filling in your national ID and phone number. The details will be accompanied by a photo of your car caught in the act.

You can pay what you owe online or request to make your payments through a delivery person, who will swing by your flat to sort out the transaction. Another convenient way to settle your fines is through fintech platforms including Fawry (either through one of its points of sales across the country or through its app), Vodafone Cash, and Jumia Pay.

And remember: There’s no renewing your car license if you haven’t paid your fines. After you pay off your fines, you get a clearance certificate, which you’re required to have on hand when you renew your car license every 1-3 years, depending on the period of validity you’ve paid for. After your license expires, you have a 30-day grace period to renew it. If you fail to pay your fees and renew the license on time, you will be fined one-third of the tax you paid for your car, according to Ahram Gate.

Have an issue with the tickets you got? You can also dispute your tickets and file complaints through the website. We advise you to click on the photo to double check that it is, in fact, your car that was caught in the act. One of us here at Enterprise HQ recently found that one of the fines on his account wasn’t for his vehicle, but for another with a similar plate number.

Don’t know what to expect when it comes to fines? Here's a handy breakdown of some of the most common traffic violations and the fines associated with them, according to a set of documents (pdf) from the Interior Ministry picked up by Akhbar El Youm:

  • Not wearing a seatbelt: EGP 100-300;
  • Driving with a cracked windshield: EGP 20-100;
  • Illegal parking: EGP 200-500;
  • Talking on the phone while driving: EGP 100-300;
  • Running a red light: EGP 500-1k;
  • Deliberately disrupting traffic: EGP 300-1.5k;
  • Speeding: EGP 300-EGP 1.5k;
  • Driving with an expired driver’s license: EGP 1-2k;
  • Driving without a driver’s license: EGP 1-2k;
  • Driving without a car license: EGP 1-3k;
  • Driving in the wrong direction: EGP 1-3k.

Some areas now also have “premium” electronic traffic units where you can find out and pay off your fees — and renew your license in relative comfort (Egyptian citizens only). The perks are: they operate at extended hours and they’re much, much less crowded than your neighborhood unit. You will find traffic units at City Stars and Dandy Mall, as well as in New Cairo’s Mivida compound, Omar Makram Mosque in Downtown Cairo, and Ard El Maared in Nasr City, according to Youm7.

WHAT ARE YOU UP TO THIS WEEKEND?

???? AT THE MOVIES-

Cocaine Bear has the makings of a cult classic: The R-rated Cocaine Bear — or should we say, “Crazy Bear,” as some Egyptian theaters have branded it? — delivers exactly what it promises: a bear on cocaine. The film is based on a true story (we kid you not) about a bear that finds its way into 34 kg of cocaine after a cop-turned-drug-smuggler dropped the bag of drugs from a plane. The real bear overdoses and dies right away, but the titular bear in the film goes on a rampage — and the results are a series of absurdly gross scenes of blood, gore and brain splatter.

Topping the list of iconic scenes: An ambulance chase involving a Fast-and-the-Furious-worthy leap from the bear. While the film isn’t devoid of good characters, it’s far from the highlight of the film — in fact, many critics suggested it should have leaned more into its culty, slapstick comedy from which it draws its influence rather than spend too much time building up sentiment for its characters.

WHERE TO WATCH IT- The film is showing in theaters across Cairo, including Plaza Cinemas, Vox, Point90, Cairo Festival City and Galaxy.

FINANCE NERDS, THIS ONE IS FOR YOU-

Catch the first Saudi film to be shown in Egyptian theaters: Al Hamour is a comedy-drama directed by Abdulelah Alqurashi, the director behind Roll’em, the first Saudi film to make it to theaters after a decades-long ban on films being shown in the kingdom.

What’s it about? Al Hamour is based on the true story of one of the biggest frauds that took place in the kingdom in the 2000s, involving a group of men who managed to rake in more than SAR 400 mn from company shareholders with false promises of returns. Starring Fahd Al Qahtani and Fatima Al Banawi, the film sees a security guard team up with a group of partners to lure people into making investments in a Ponzi scheme that sees them making bns — before authorities start catching on to them. The two-hour-long film is “bold,” and boasted excellent dialogue and acting, but suffered from a lack of flow and excessive narration, Saudi youtuber Rakan Al Shaya said in his review of the film (watch, runtime: 7:42).

WHERE TO WATCH IT- The film is showing in Vox City Center Almaza and Mall of Egypt cinemas.

???? FROM THE BOOKSTORE-

Muslim conquest stories — from the eyes of the conquered. The Night Will Have Its Say is a rich retelling of the Muslim wars of conquest in North Africa in the early seventh century. Originally written in Arabic by Libyan author (and Man Booker International Prize finalist) Ibrahim Al Koni and later translated into English by Nancy Roberts, the novel is narrated from the perspective of characters in conquered cities, and explores themes of exile, language, war and religion. Critics have praised the book’s poetic prose and its solid depiction of women’s rights and roles in both society and Muslim cultures in the Middle Ages. Get the English version from AUC bookstores or on Amazon.

NEVER HEARD OF AL KONI? The Libyan writer is widely considered to be one of the greatest living Arabic novelists. Often nicknamed “scholar of the desert,” he has written over 90 books about the Arab world and the role of the desert in the lives of those who live in it, and in 2010 received the Arab Novel Award for his works. A master of philosophy and spirituality, many of his books explore themes like identity, freedom and the nature of existence.

Want to get to know him a little more? Watch his interview with the Louisiana Chronicle (watch, runtime: 17:01) or listen to his podcast episode on literary podcast Jawalan (watch, runtime: 22:24).

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???? HOT AND FRESH OUT OF THE KITCHEN-

This rooftop bar will transport you: Perched atop Crowne Plaza hotel in Arkan Plaza, Miss Li Lee’s is an Asian restaurant and rooftop bar that will make you feel like you’ve left Cairo and its noise behind. The restaurant’s decor is a fusion of Asian and contemporary design, and the cuisine boasts a wide variety of pan-Asian dishes — from Japanese to Thai and Indian.

Go tonight if you’re looking for a calm ambiance — or on Saturday afternoon if you want to kick it up a notch. The restaurant is relatively calm throughout the day, with only a bit of calm music to match the dark and relaxing ambiance, but Saturday brunch can get loud, with Okasha Ali delivering a live performance at 2pm.

What to eat: Start your meal off with some fried crispy spring rolls and dumplings. For the main course, we strongly recommend their Peking duck. We also really enjoyed their pad Thai noodles as well as the deep fried banana for dessert.

???? Per person: A little above EGP 1k, including an appetizer, main course and a dessert

???? Alcohol? Yes

???? Outdoor seating? Yes

???? Accessibility friendly? Yes

WHAT TO WATCH

A deeply entertaining — if at times slow — look into the struggles of two female stock exchange traders in 1980s Kuwait: Netflix’s first Kuwaiti original, The Exchange, takes you into the cutthroat world of late ‘80s stock traders in the country — through the eyes of the two women who pioneered their way into the then male-dominated industry. Based on real events, the series’ depiction of 1980s Kuwait and the struggles that women faced in some industries is powerful and true to its time. Like most Netflix period productions, the details make the show — from the aesthetics (the styling alone deserves awards, in our opinion) to the characters and dialogue.

One thing we loved: The show does really well to give the two main female characters — Farida, a recent divorcee who needs to provide for her daughter, and her cousin Munira, a career-driven women who at the start of the show, was the only woman to work at the exchange — separate, complex and multidimensional stories. Instead of rooting for just one, likable character, you find yourself rooting for both — despite them being so different from each other.

One thing we didn’t: The show takes a while to find its footing, and moves a bit too slow for our taste. We were also hoping for a slightly less predictable plot, but were nonetheless happy to watch the two women navigate the problems thrown at them by the men in their lives — husbands, fathers, colleagues and bosses — with grace, wit and (sometimes) a sense of humor.

Seasons: One

Episodes: Six, each a bit less than an hour long

WHAT TO LISTEN TO

If Joe Rogan was smarter, had better guests, more meaningful topics (and a lot less on-air imbibing): Podcast interview shows seem of late to be the preferred side-hustles of comedians, celebrities, reality stars, and influencers. And it shows in the quality of the content being pumped out there, with interviews devolving into conspiracy theories of the flat-earth variety, astrology, peddling questionable goods — to say nothing of advice on what to do in every room in the house, from the kitchen to the bedroom. It is perhaps surprising that the Lex Fridman Podcast — hosted by the eponymous computer science PhD holder whose natural speaking voice has all the monotony of the Stephen Hawking voice box — has broken the mold to become arguably the second most popular interview podcast show after the Joe Rogan Experience.

Like the latter, Lex Fridman has no qualms with the type of guests and topics he covers: From cybercriminals to the cybersecurity officials who caught them — and from leaders and pioneers to deranged pseudo-celebrities. What differentiates Fridman is the nuance of his approach, which gives every guest the seriousness that arguably some do not deserve.

A masterclass in podcast interviewing: Ironically, the same monotonous voice that drives first-time listeners away appears to make his guess comfortable opening up. The show is also helped by the fact that Fridman is genuinely interested in a broad variety of topics, including tech, politics, history, business, philosophy, psychology, and (being the Russian-American that he is) chess. Episodes on any of these topics are a hit. As people who engage with and interview people with a story to tell, we’ve definitely taken cues from his show.

Some episodes we most definitely recommend include:

The Lex Fridman Podcast is available on all platforms: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Anghami | Google Podcasts | YouTube.

ANALYZE THIS

An argument with the Resident 15-Year-Old is an all-consuming event. The only way you stand a chance of winning is by maintaining absolute, laser-like focus as the young sophist tries to tie you in knots. Don’t believe me? This is a kid who at age six mounted a campaign to convince the middle school principal to let her transfer immediately to the MS. Rather than dismissing my ambitious expansionist, the wonderful Mr. Bailey started a debate with her — a debate that sharpened her innately argumentative nature at a young age. We’ve been paying the price ever since.

In the years since, my central nervous system has trained itself to tune out every distraction when I’m mid-argument. Every distraction except:

The one and only Mme. Mervat, a telemarketer for an ins. company and the sprit animal of Phoebe Buffay during her stint as a telemarketer selling toner, trying to make a sale to Earl, the suicidal supply manager (played by Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander). Mme. Mervat is as persistent, as strong willed, and every bit as much a go-getter as our quirky fictional friend.

Mme. Mervat lives by the mantra of Phoebe’s supervisor: “They’re always going to tell you that they don’t need toner, but that’s okay. Because whatever they say, you can find the answer to it here in the script.” If you’ve lived here long enough, you know that Egyptians are born script writers. Comic, horror — name a genre and we’re great at it. And we have an answer for everything, too.

What you say: No, thanks. I’m not interested.

What Mme. Mervat and her buddies hear: Bring it on, [redacted].

Phoebe eventually tries to save Earl, but Mme. Mervat? Her end game seems different. I’m convinced her senseless, endless, relentless calls are meant to drive me over the edge. It’s a sales logic that boils down to: I’ll take good care of your family after you kick the bucket, so just buy the [redacted] ins. policy.

Ins. Bank loans. Real estate in the new capital. A special in-store sale just for you. Whether it’s incessant calls or robo-messages via SMS (and now, increasingly, WhatsApp), there’s nobody with an Egyptian phone number who isn’t harassed around the clock — all while our four mobile network operators laugh all the way to the bank.

Mme. Mervat has become my ET — but this guest doesn’t want to phone home to go back to her home planet. No, friends: She’s made me the planet she orbits. If I ignore her call, she’ll call again. Hang up on her and you unleash her inner beast. Yell at her (“No, I’m not interested, dammit”) and she’ll just redouble her pursuit. Block her, she’ll call from a different number. And even if you triumphantly get rid of her, a clone will reach out to hit you the next day. I’m starting to think my only way out is sweet surrender.

I’m also starting to hate my phone. My husband can use it to track me. Angry friends and bored family members can leave me 10 missed calls just for the fun of it. And now I need the harassment of telemarketers? I’m not asking for world peace here. All I want is to sit, in the peace of my own living room, minding my own business, enjoying an almond croissant from Ratios, without the fear of my phone and head simultaneously exploding with “Let us sell you something” messages and calls.

None of us are safe. My friend just sold her unit in a compound — and has been stalked every day since by folks trying to sell her real estate. “It’s Groundhog Day every single damn day. Now I’m scared whenever my phone rings. It feels like they’re out to get me — and I’m not leading them on. I usually start the conversation with a blunt, ‘No, thank you, I’m broke.’ They think I’m hilarious.”

We’ve all been taught that a no means no — and it should apply to telemarketing as much as [redacted] harassment. Ironically, I can scare the [redacted] out of a pervert in the street and send him running, his tail tucked between his legs. But a telemarketer? That’s an unstoppable force of nature.

Go now and check your messages — how many are sitting there unread in the past day or two? Six? A full dozen? I’m so grateful to know that “The Cafex Event” (whatever the hell that is) is just around the corner. And that Kashier — bless him, her, or it — can’t wait to introduce me to its latest payment solution. What the hell is a payment solution? Kashier, who gave you my number? Do you even have a target audience? Because I’m certainly not it.

At least my loyal friends at Rush Brush know I’m a woman and are (presumably?) banking on my having a full head of hair. It hurts me to say that they send me more messages than my husband, daughter and immediate relatives combined. But I still don’t know to this day if they’re selling me a drybrush, hairbrush or a toilet brush.

Look, I love to buy — I just don’t enjoy being sold. The majority of telemarketers buy phone numbers from third-party data providers — and the rest is history. Every time you disclose your personal information to a source, you open the door for them to sell and resell your info. Whether it’s moral or not — lawful or not — isn’t something they pause to ask for a second.

Telemarketing — calls and unwanted messages alike — is here to stay, and maybe it’s time our elected officials do something about it. It’s not like they would want for legislative inspiration if they were to look into it.

In the United States and Canada, telemarketers are subject to penalties under legislation and regulatory regimes such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA, pdf). In the US, the TCPA sets out details on calls they deem unlawful and restricts telemarketers from making annoying sales calls to consumers. Even better, it requires telemarketers not to contact people without their consent. The law applies to home phones, cell phones, text messages — even fax machines (for the dozen people still using them). Under it, telemarketers can make calls only between 8am and 9pm — and if you tell them never to call you again, they have to listen.

Better than Santa’s Christmas list is the Do Not Call Registry list — every telemarketer’s nightmare. In the US and Canada, you can sign up and let the buggers know never to call you again. Only organizations such as political parties, newspapers, non-profits, charities and pollsters get exemptions — and violators get fines.

(We suggest our MPs consider putting some limits on charities, too. They call and call. You cave and donate. They call again and want even more. You’ll soon need a little charity yourself if you’re to keep up with all the requests for donations.)

With three quarters of all Americans now on the registry, the program was apparently wildly popular — a national scream for help that echoed around the world.

Because it’s not just in the West: Our beautiful neighbors in Abu Dhabi created their own do-not-call registry in September 2022. As happy as we are for them, we’re waiting for the ripple effect to hit our shores.

An Egyptian do-not-call registry would be a win-win situation, in my humble opinion. Screening out consumers who don’t want to be contacted would help telemarketers operate more efficiently instead of wasting their time on others. And God knows their staff — the poor wretches — would probably meet with a bit less verbal abuse.

In the meantime, I’m going to take a page out of Jerry Seinfeld’s book and ask Mme. Mervat, the next time she calls, for her personal mobile number.

Telemarketer: Hi, would you be interested in switching over to TMI long distance service?

Jerry: Oh, gee. I can’t talk right now. Why don’t you give me your home number, and I’ll call you later?

Telemarketer: Uh, well I’m sorry, we’re not allowed to do that.

Jerry: Oh, I guess you don’t want people calling you at home.

Telemarketer: No

Jerry: Well, now you know how I feel.

[hangs up]

Sorry, guys. Nothing personal. Or as Billy Crystal as Dr Ben Sobel once said, “Don’t kid yourself, Jelly. It doesn’t get more personal than this.”

ANALYZE THIS is a regular Enterprise Weekend column by the Mother of the Resident 15 Year-old.

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

MARCH

23 February-11 March (Monday-Saturday): Diarna Exhibition, Cairo Festival City Mall, New Cairo.

28 February-4 March (Tuesday-Saturday): Film O’Clock International Film Festival, Zawya Cinema, Downtown Cairo.

3 March (Friday): Sharmoofers Caravan Concert at 8pm, Zed Park, Sheikh Zayed.

3 March (Friday): Mahmoud Saad and Amir Eid Interview + Amir Eid Acoustic Night, El Falaki Theater, El Falaki St., Downtown Cairo.

4 March (Saturday): Maz Jobrani Standup Comedy at 4pm, The Marquee at Cairo Festival City, New Cairo.

8-18 March (Wednesday-Saturday): Cirque du Soleil’s OVO, Cairo international Stadium Hall.

15 March (Wednesday): Season 3 of Ted Lasso will be out on Apple TV.

23 March (Wednesday): First day of Ramadan (TBC). Maghreb will be at 6:08pm CLT.

APRIL

16 April (Sunday): Coptic Easter

17 April (Monday): Sham El Nessim.

21-26 April (Friday-Wednesday): LaLiga Egypt Football Camp, Xanadu Hotel, Makadi Bay, Hurghada.

22 April (Saturday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

25 April (Tuesday): Sinai Liberation Day.

27 April (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day (TBC).

MAY

1 May (Monday): Labor Day.

1 May (Monday): Backstreet Boys at 7pm, ZED East, New Cairo.

4 May (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Labor Day (TBC).

JUNE

10 June (Saturday): Thanaweya Amma examinations begin.

28 June-2 July (Wednesday-Sunday): Eid El Adha (TBC).

30 June (Friday): June 30 Revolution Day.

JULY

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

20 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Islamic New Year (TBC).

23 July (Sunday): Revolution Day.

27 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Revolution Day.

SEPTEMBER

26 September (Tuesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

28 September (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

OCTOBER

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

13 October- 20 October (Friday-Friday): The sixth edition of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

NOVEMBER

15-24 November (Wednesday-Friday): The 45th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), Cairo Opera House.

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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