Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Egypt

Hello all,

I would love to hear what people who've lived in Egypt have to say about the work and entrepreneurial culture is like there.

Here's my most recent blog post about my latest confrontation at school. It is title "Micro Innovation in Egypt (or why I will continue to drink coffee while teaching)."

trekdek.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/micro-innovation-in-egypt-or-why-i-will-continue-to-drink-coffee-while-teaching/

Cheers,

Dale

Hi,

I recently interviewed a professor at George Washington University who's been pretty prolific on this issue. He's written an op-ed piece that might be of interest.

http://www.businessbecause.com/commenta … crisis.htm


I've been interviewing a lot of people working in Egypt and they're strangely positive. They've tended to say that the entrepreneurial atmosphere is improving and that the unrest is nothing to worry about. A graduate careers advisor in Cairo for a European business school mentioned that things are better than ever right now for those looking for entry-level jobs. I'm not too sure about the bigger trends, though.

Very nice blog, btw. Out of curiosity, where and when were you an army officer?

Hi Robert,

Thanks for reading the blog. it's funny that you mention a GWU Professor as that is where I went to school.

I'm happy that you're finding budding entrepreneurs optimistic about Egypt. It is definitely a growing economy with hopefully enough capacity for it's population. The main thing I worry about is the bureaucratic culture that tends to spill over into various industries. I haven't talked to anyone who has tried to incorporate a business in Egypt so maybe its not as bad as I imagine it to be. Maybe someone has done a study on the relationship between paperwork requirements and business success.

Thanks for writing!

-Dale

PS: I was in the Navy for a year between 2009-2010 out in San Diego, California. Sort of a long story.

not good, really bad but that's my own opinion ...

Andy, are you actually in Egypt at the moment?

why do u want to know is this some sort of obsession

sorry babe not interested :(

Andy_22 wrote:

sorry babe not interested :(


That's great, cos the feeling is mutual! And for the record, it's 'The Londoner', not babe.

it just took us ten days to clear some common material from customs in the airport and we did all the foot work to resolve each and every little issue. the people working within the customs section were of little help as they want the old management removed.

Shorouk wrote:

it just took us ten days to clear some common material from customs in the airport and we did all the foot work to resolve each and every little issue. the people working within the customs section were of little help as they want the old management removed.


When you say they were of no little help, what exactly do you mean? They didn't work... were they on strike?

yes some of them refused to do their part.others helped but slowly and they were trying to call for a full scale strike.