EgyptianWomenEntrepreneurs ProfilesofSuccess

March2007


Acknowledgements

The Small and Medium Enterprise Policy (SMEPol) Project would like to express appreciation to a number of people and organizations that supported the concept behind this publication and assisted with identifying the successful women entrepreneurs who are featured. First of all, we thank members of the Donors SME Sub-group and Gender Sub-group who enthusiastically responded to the proposal and agreed to make it part of their 2007 International Womens Day event to highlight womens enterprise activity in Egypt. We extend appreciation to members of the Discussion Forum on Womens Entrepreneurship in Egypt who embraced the idea and provided input, with special thanks to the National Council for Womens Women Business Development Center, the GTZ Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Programme, and the Egyptian Business Women Association who provided information on potential profiles. We also express gratitude to the Canadian International Development Agency and the International Development Research Center, partners with the Ministry of Finance in the SMEPol Project, and to the Ministry of Investment. Lastly, we need to offer a special thanks to the 10 women who agreed to be profiled, willingly gave of their valuable time for interviews with the SMEPol team, and went out of their way to provide us with up-to-date information on their businesses, their successes, their challenges, and their plans for the future. Without their cooperation, the dream of this publication would not have been realized.

TableofContents

Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 2 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4 LoulaZaklama,TrailblazingEntrepreneur ............................................................ 8 AzzaFahmy,InspiredEntrepreneur ...................................................................... 10 RandaFahmy,InnovativeEntrepreneur ................................................................ 12 Dr.AmanyAsfour,EmpoweredEntrepreneur..................................................... 14 ThourayaHelmy,IncrementalEntrepreneur ........................................................ 16 NeveenElTahri,InvestingEntrepreneur ............................................................... 18 RandaIbrahimAbdou,ProfessionalEntrepreneur .............................................. 20 AzzaElMahdy,FloweringEntrepreneur .............................................................. 22 Dr.AmiraBoshra,ScientificEntrepreneur ............................................................ 24 HebaElShenawey,FasttrackingEntrepreneur ................................................... 26

 Introduction
likely to be exporting. In addition, they have less access to formal technical, business management, and entrepreneurial training, business development services (BDS), and finance, coupled with a lower average level of education and higher illiteracy rate than men. So from a business growth perspective, Egyptian women MSEs are also at a disadvantage. Egypt is a nation of very small enterprises. In the MSE sector, only three percent of male-owned enterprises have over 10 employees; for womenowned enterprises, it is less than one percent. But this means that close to 60,000 of the 630,000 women-owned MSEs are in the small enterprise category (with between 10 and 49 employees)! With respect to womens entrepreneurship in Egypt, there appear to be two major challenges. The first is to create a cultural, social, and economic environment that is more favorable to the emergence of women as entrepreneurs, and the second is to ensure that women who already have their own enterprises have adequate access to the resources and supports needed for sustainability and growth, that is, financing, technical and business management training, information, BDS, business networks, and technology. Without addressing these challenges, the Egyptian economy will not be able to benefit from the latent and untapped economic and entrepreneurial potential of the half of its population represented by women! There are a number of efforts in Egypt to improve the socio-economic environment for women, including for women entrepreneurs. The National Council for Women (NCW) has the Government of Egypt mandate to advance the status of Egyptian women by enhancing their social, economic and political status. The Women Business Development Center (WBDC), operated under the auspices of the NCW, offers technical, financial, and legal counseling to women at various stages of business development and growth, including administrative, research and marketing support to women seeking to start a business. The Social Fund for Development (SFD), a major government body to support MSE development, has developed a strategy designed to enable and support the capacity of women entrepreneurs to benefit from loans and facilities

According to 2006 Egyptian Labor Force Survey statistics, there are some 630,000 woman-owned micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Egypt. An impressive number in absolute terms! But not so impressive when compared to the number of male-owned MSEs. Of the total MSE population, women make up less than 17 percent. This means that men outnumber women by a ratio of more than 5 to 1. In most countries around the world where such data is available, the average proportion is closer to 2 to 1, suggesting there is potential in Egypt for a higher number of women entrepreneurs. Of course, one of the factors influencing the level of womens entrepreneurial activity is the low participation rate of women in the workforce, which is lower in Egypt than in most non-Arab countries. In addition, many of the women who are in the workforce are employed in the public sector. In Egypts private sector, only 15 percent of workers are women. Not being in the workforce at all means that women do not have much opportunity to gain business skills and experience or to be exposed to ideas for developing products and services to fill unmet needs or gaps in the marketplace. And international research on the background of entrepreneurs reveals that public sector employment does not provide a very strong incubation environment for emerging entrepreneurs compared to employment in the private sector, especially, employment in small or medium enterprises. Therefore, entrepreneurially speaking Egyptian women are at a disadvantage. Findings from a comprehensive survey of the MSE sector carried out in 2002 and 2003 by the Economic Research Forum (ERF) suggests that, compared to male-owned MSEs in Egypt, womens enterprises are started with a considerably lower level of capitalization; are more highly concentrated in the trade sector (where barriers to entry are low); more likely to have only one worker; more likely to have outside establishments in the informal sector; and less

offered by the Small Enterprise Development Organization (SEDO) and also places special emphasis on female-headed households and womens employment. Many of the donors in Egypt stress the importance of gender mainstreaming and often set quantitative targets in their micro, small and medium enterprise support projects for the reaching of women as beneficiaries. There are at least 22 businesswomen associations (BWAs) in the country offering networking, training, and other supports to the women entrepreneurs who are their members, although for the most part they reach only a small number of women in MSEs and have limited resources and capacity. These BWAs do play an important role in promoting womens entrepreneurial activity and raising awareness of the needs and concerns of women in business in their communities. However, it has to be said that women in Egypt face any number of cultural, social, familial, economic and regulatory barriers and resource constraints that inhibit their more active participation in entrepreneurial activity. Promotion and awareness-raising are among the most critical elements in changing the environment for womens entrepreneurial activity. This is true in any country, as it is for Egypt. It involves creating heightened public awareness of the role of women in entrepreneurial activity and the contribution they make to the economy and to society in general, and promotion of entrepreneurship as a viable and feasible employment opportunity for women. An important vehicle for creating this awareness is the profiling of successful women entrepreneurs who can serve, not only as credible role-models for other women, but also to challenge some of the myths and widespread misperceptions regarding womens capabilities as economic generators. Egyptian Women Entrepreneurs: Profiles of Success is just such an instrument! In this publication we have brought together the profiles of 10 Egyptian women entrepreneurs who represent five decades of entrepreneurial history. Loula Zaklama started in business in 1962, long before private sector business activity was widely accepted in the country; sisters Azza Fahmy and

Randa Fahmy each separately started their own businesses in the late 1970s; Dr. Amany Asfour in the 1980s; and Randa Ibrahim Abdou, Dr. Amira Boshra, Azza El Mahdy, Neveen El Tahri and Thouraya Helmy in the 1990s; and Heba El Shenawey in 2000. These 10 women entrepreneurs currently own a total of 13 businesses, and for half of them it is not their first or only business. Their time as entrepreneurs ranges from seven years to 45 years. Three of them have been in business for less than 10 years, four of them for 10-20 years and three of them for more than 20 years. The average age of their current businesses is about 14 years, ranging from 5 to 29 years. Collectively, these 10 women create jobs for over 700 workers. Individually, they employ between 8 and 212 people. And they generate sales revenues in excess of LE 150 million a year. About 60 percent of them are involved in some degree of exporting their products/services to other countries, and several are importers. Nonexporters have ambitious future plans to expand into other parts of the Arab Region and Europe. They own businesses in a diversity of sectors. Half of them have factories where they produce jewellery, cosmetics and detergents, metalworks, embroidered linens and ready made garments. Three have retail operations, three are in services (financial services, marketing consultancy, advertising and public relations), one is in medical equipment distribution, and one has a greenhouse operation where she grows rare collections of flowers. We did not make education level one of the criteria in selecting the women for these profiles, but it just so happens that they all have at least one university degree and half of them have advanced degrees. Given the statistics on Egyptian women who own MSEs, not the typical level of education! In most cases their education relates to the type of business they started. In others, such as the case with Azza El Mahdy, whose degree in literature and American drama has little to do with greenhouses and flower growing, their education is unrelated to the type of business they are in. In terms of previous working experiences, four of them got involved in their own businesses at a young age so basically, they have always been

entrepreneurs. Another four had careers that lasted at least 10 years or more in the private sector, some of them in multinational companies where they gained a lot of product knowledge and, in some cases, management experience that served them well once in their own businesses. Five of them started businesses related to their previous experience and three of them started businesses that were completely unrelated to their education or work experience. They differed in their motivations for becoming an entrepreneur. One group of these women started a business because they had no choice it was a matter of economic necessity and survival. For a second group, it was more of a fortuitous accident that led to a hobby becoming a business. For a third group, it was opportunity driven they started businesses to pursue an opportunity, either to fill a market need or fulfill a creative passion. But they are all very similar in their motivations now to grow, to achieve, and to be more successful in an expanded marketplace. These women entrepreneurs share a number of other features in common. First of all, they all started as very small enterprises, several of them from a home base, most with no more than two workers, if that. They have all grown, some more gradually than others. As described in their words, it wasnt easy for any of them. They had difficulties with financing, business registration and licensing processes, customs procedures, building permits, the high costs of importing, finding specialized information and expertise related to their businesses, and for some of the women, with achieving the right balance between managing the business and their parenting role. Some of them took in partners; others sought help from the WBDC, obtained loans from the SFD, and/or immersed themselves in learning by taking courses and participating in international fairs and exhibitions. They all cited the importance of determination, persistence, patience, family support and good old-fashioned hard work in overcoming obstacles and achieving success. They are all innovators and leaders in their field. Women like Azza and Randa Fahmy have achieved international acclaim for their creative innovativeness. For many, the business they started was the first of its kind in the country the first private advertising agency (Loula Zaklama),

the first marketing consultancy by practitioners (Randa Ibrahim Adbou), the first Egyptian gallery dedicated to traditional handicrafts of a high standard (the Fahmys). In other words, many of them have broken new ground. In addition, many of them have achieved personal firsts. Neveen El Tahri was the first women to serve on the Board of the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges, Loula Zaklama was the first person from the Middle East to be President of the International Public Relations Association, Azza Fahmy was the first woman to train as an apprentice under masters in Cairos Jewellery Quarter, Azza El Mahdy is the only women in the Flower Growers Council of the HEIA, and so on. Most of them are also making significant contributions to their professions, to their communities, or to the advancement of social and economic causes. Loula Zaklama has dedicated herself to advancing the public relations industry in Egypt; Dr. Amany Asfour co-founded the African Society of Scientific Research and Technology to encourage investment in scientific research and technology to improve value-added and productivity in all sectors of Egyptian society; and Neveen El Tahri started the Egyptian Capital Markets Association, as examples. The Fahmys run a training center to teach other women in traditional crafts, which provides them with skills and employment opportunities. Thouraya Helmy of Silk in Silk offers co-operative training to 12 students a year from the MubarakKohl Project with a similar goal, and Dr. Amany Asfour started the Egyptian Business Women Association (EBWA) because she wanted to help young women start businesses and to encourage all women to become more economically empowered as a way of improving their circumstances. These woman-owned enterprises are also incubation environments for other women. In Heba El Shenaweys enterprise, Femina for Ready Made Garments, all of the managers are women and Heba takes great pride in the fact that her business gives young women the opportunity to work in the private sector where they can learn responsibility and gain experience. Azza El Mahdy, Audriana Flowers, also gains much satisfaction from seeing her workers gain knowledge in flower growing that they can then

later apply in their own gardening operations. Many of these activities are having an impact on the poverty alleviation of marginalized groups, particularly women and youth, by providing them with training and employment. They stress consistent themes in their advice to other women who want to start businesses: start a business you love and love what you do; learn, study, train, and keep learning; dont underestimate your ideas; work hard; do things right from the beginning because its the foundation for growth; be persistent and patient; and as Loula Zaklama advises, never give up even when youre down, never give up. The 10 profiled women entrepreneurs do not perhaps reflect the typical statistical profile of an Egyptian MSE, but they do represent a few thousand of the women who have more than 10 employees and who have potential to grow their enterprises. In that sense, they are only illustrative of the many equally and wonderfully inspiring examples of womens entrepreneurship in Egypt.

They have been courageous, committed and caring. They are innovative, bold, and empowered. And they are women entrepreneurs who are making a significant contribution to the economic and social betterment of Egyptians and to the countrys future prosperity. We hope that these profiles will serve to be an inspiration to all existing and potential women entrepreneurs. We also hope they serve to challenge any prevailing public misperceptions about the potential of Egyptian women to be significant contributors to the economic growth and prosperity of Egypt. The women are presented to you based on the year in which they started their first business, beginning with the trail-blazing 1960s entrepreneur, Loula Zaklama, RadaResearch & Public Relations and ending with the fasttracking entrepreneur of the 2000s, Heba El Shenawey, Femina for Ready Made Garments.

LoulaZaklama,Trailblazing Entrepreneur
President and Managing Director of RadaResearch & Public Relations in Cairo, is one of the top 50 women entrepreneurs in the world! So said Fortune Magazine in 1998. And in 2006, she was selected by Forbes Magazine as one the 50 leading Arab businesswomen in the Middle East! These are outstanding recognitions for an Assiut-born woman who, 45 years ago, was the first in her entire family to work and have a career. No woman in my family ever worked before. My family did not even know any women who worked. In the 1960s, when Loula started in business, the word businesswoman was unfamiliar to Egyptian ears. Women doctors, lawyers, and professors, yes, exclaims Loula, but never businesswomen. Money and business were the exclusive property of men back then. Not that she ever planned to have her own business! Like many Egyptian women at the time, Loula married young. By the age of 19, she already had two children. Her husband was working at EgyptAir and Loula was taking care of the babies and studying at the university (where she eventually earned a degree in Mass Communications). In 1961, her husband started a small private advertising agency as a part-time activity to earn extra income. The following year, he was arrested and detained. Loula, left alone to provide for herself and her children, decided she would have to try to run her husbands nascent business in order to survive. The year was 1962. Her business was Radar Advertising Agency, where she had the big title of President and Managing Director, but a very, very small business!

Loula Zaklama, the

I had no idea what the business was about. So I took some advertising courses at the university. My mother and mother-in-law took care of the children. At the time, I was too busy studying, struggling and running like mad to find and keep my few clients. Not only was her business the first privately owned advertising company in the country, but she herself was breaking ground as one of the first women entrepreneurs in Egypt in the 1960s! Everything was against me especially the socialist regime. I was defying the system because I was in the private sector at a time when only people working for the government were able to surviveI was fighting not against another company, but against power. Attracting business was difficult. Back then, Egypt was a completely state-run economy where contracting to private firms was not allowed. During these early years, Loula had a secretary and a couple of staff and that was it. She managed to survive on a few very small accounts from Proctor & Gamble (until they were nationalized in 1967) and other international companies who needed advertising campaigns when they entered the Egyptian market after initiation of the OpenDoor Policy in the late 1970s. Business: RadaResearch & Public Relations Public relations and marketing research firm Year started: 1962, 1982 Location: 1 Mostafa El-Wakil St., Heliopolis Employees: 45 Turnover: LE 8.8 million (US$1.5 million) Ph: (20) 2 2917 956 Email: info@radaresearch.com Website: www.radaresearch.com Affiliations: World President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), 2006 Member of the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt; the International Advertising Association (IAA) in Egypt and New York; and the European Society of Marketing Research

In fact, the Open-Door Policy changed things for Loulas tiny enterprise and paved the way for her shift into marketing research and public relations. The Infitah meant that a lot of products were being manufactured in Egypt. Consumers faced a lot of new choices. The only way for multinational companies operating in Egypt to market their products was to better understand consumers needs. And so, in 1982, I started RadaResearch & Public Relations to respond to this need I saw. Today, RadaResearch & Public Relations is one of Egypts leading companies. It has 45 employees and in 2006 generated LE 8.8 million in turnover (about US$1.5 million). The company conducts market research, coordinates media relations, and designs communications campaigns. And some of its major accounts are with the government! Loulas company prepared the Investment Promotion Campaign for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is currently a consultant to the Ministry of Investment to create greater public awareness of privatization and to promote foreign direct investment. She has lent a hand in reviving tourism through a public relations campaign called Embrace Egypt that was launched at the initiative of the private tourism industry and she continues to be a strong advocate for the future prosperity of the country.

Over the years, Loula has also worked tirelessly to develop and improve the public relations industry in Egypt and was instrumental in introducing the International Advertising Association (IAA) course to the American University in Cairo. In 2006, she was elected President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), the first person from the Middle East to serve in this position. IPRA is present in 90 countries. Her pioneering efforts have also left a legacy on the role of women in work in her own family. Although she has some regrets for having missed out on parts of her daughters growing up experiences, they both now work with her in the business, as do two of her granddaughters. She offers the following advice to other women wanting to start a business. You will have to learn, study, train and work hard. The first step to failure is to say I do not need to learn, I know it all, and I have done it all. Never give up. Even when youre down, never give up!

AzzaFahmy,Inspired Entrepreneur

Azza Fahmy is recognized as the leading designer of fine jewellery in the Middle East due to both her innovative designs and intricate craftsmanship. In 1969, she was the first women in Egypt ever to be permitted to train as an apprentice under the masters of Cairos Jewellery Quarter, historically an exclusively male domain. It was there that she learned ancient jewellery-making techniques. Now, as CEO of Azza Fahmy Jewellery, she is also considered one of Egypts finest women entrepreneurs.
Azza was born in the southern governorate of Sohaj, Egypt. She studied Fine Arts at Helwan University, specializing in interior design. After graduating, she apprenticed with a master gold and silversmith at the Khan El Khalil and later won a fellowship to study modern techniques in jewellery design and manufacturing in London. Azza also had a passion for poetry and philosophy and a fascination with Arabic and Islamic heritage. She was able to combine this passion with the techniques she had learned in Cairo and London to begin shaping her signature jewellery collections, a unique mix of silver and gold, hand-picked stones and calligraphic inscriptions that are now worn by jewellery connoisseurs, royalty and celebrities worldwide. Not bad for a women who started with a small workshop and two workers back in the 1970s! Her first exhibition in 1974 launched her career. She has since held more than 200 exhibitions around the world. Everything inspires me, the birds, the flowers, and the motifs in a house or a piece of proverb. Inscriptions of wise sayings and motifs have became a feature of her work, a way of conveying to the world a message of beauty and the traditions of the Arab world.

In the mid-1970s, she started with a small workshop, but had big dreams and lots of ambition. Her vision was to have her jewellery find its way to all parts of the world. Early on, she set a goal to export 80 percent of her designs outside of Egypt. However, growth came slowly. She discovered that it wasnt that easy to build international recognition for an Egyptian brand. And that, coupled with financial constraints and the demands of being a mother, an artist, and a businesswoman, meant that she could only take small steps at a time. However, her reputation for creative and beautiful jewellery pieces gradually started to take root. My passion, the talent I have, my creativity and my stamina were the major forces that drove me forward. In 1981, she opened her first gallery, Al Ain Gallery, with two partners, her sister Randa Fahmy, a metalworker, and her then husband, the architect Nabil Ghali. This was the first gallery in Egypt to exhibit and sell traditional handicrafts of a high quality standard and to serve as an outlet for the work of the three artists. Azza now has a large Cairo-based factory employing over 180 workers who manufacture and market Azza Fahmy designs, five stores in Cairo and locations in Bahrain, Jordan, Dubai, and London. The business is a significant importer of precious and semi-precious stones and semimanufactured goods and a major buyer of gold. As such, her company has to cope regularly with customs procedures and inventory management. Business: Azza Fahmy Jewellery Produces crafted jewellery in silver, gold, precious and semi-precious stones and reflecting Arabic and Islamic traditions and periods Year started: Mid-1970s Location: Office: 73 El Hussein St., Dokki Factory: 6th of October City Industrial Zone Employees: 180 + Ph: (20) 2 8327 294 Email: info@azzafahmy.com Website: www.azzafahmy.com Affiliations: Co-owner, Al Ain Gallery, Cairo Judge, Gold Virtuosi, International Jewellery Design Awards

10

One of Azzas most pressing challenges has been finding skilled labor, a constraint she has overcome by providing her workers with extensive training. They are now among the best. Her Signature collections comprise: the Culture Line - a mix of sterling silver and 18 carat gold with semi-precious stones with a focus on intricate hand crafted filigree work and decorative calligraphy, including rings for men; the Exclusive Line limited editions of 18 carat gold, featuring gemstones, such as diamonds, turquoise, garnet, blue topaz, peridot, amethyst, emeralds and rubies: and the Fashion Line - artistic and innovative use of silver with intricate designs and semi-precious stones. The company also offers a bespoke service. Besides designing her collection jewellery lines, Azza also designs costumes and jewellery for theatrical productions and movies. She juries the International Jewellery Design Awards and in the fall of 2006 saw the launch of her book, Enchanted Jewellery of Egypt: The Traditional Art & Craft, published by the American University in Cairo Press.

As for the future, Azza Fahmy Jewellery is still a family enterprise and Azza plans to maintain family control over the manufacturing side of the business to ensure design quality, but she has aggressive plans to expand the retail side of the business and is considering how best to approach this. Regional expansion of franchised outlets is a strong possibility and the company is looking for investors from target countries to act as local partners. Her advice for other women who want to have their own business? First of all, says Azza, choose a business you love and have a passion for it. Otherwise, when you run into difficulties, you may want to give up. Second, everyday there will be something different, so be serious and always willing to learn.

11

RandaFahmy,Innovative Entrepreneur

Randa Fahmy, of Randy Fahmy Design & Manufacturing, was born in the governorate of Sohaj in southern Egypt. It was never her intention to be in business, but she now owns three companies and is considered the worlds most preeminent designer of architectural finishings in the Islamic tradition.
She graduated from the School of Art at Helwan University in Zamalek in 1975. After finishing her formal studies, Randa began as an artist. I was first deeply inspired by the great Egyptian painter, Hasan Soliman, who opened my eyes to our traditions and passed on his prodigious discipline that has served me well over the last 30 years. But to be a painter, she would need to do something else part-time to support herself. She found that thing in traditional Islamic metalwork. Not that she ever imagined herself as a businesswoman. The last thing I wanted to do was end up working in an office for someone else. The fact that I have a successful business is a byproduct of my creativity. I set out to make a living from doing something creative, something I loved. While apprenticing with metalsmiths at the Khan El Khalili bazaar, and learning everything she could about Islamic metalwork, she started to design and make her own lanterns, hiring an old metalworker from Shobra to fabricate the pieces to her precise specifications and quality. When she held her first exhibition in 1978, she was working from a small atelier, but after the great response to her beautiful lighting designs from designers and architects from all over the Middle East, she began to see the market opportunity to develop her craft into a viable business. She was ready to establish her small but hopeful Randa Fahmy Metalwork into just that!

During that time in Egypts history, there were no institutions to help finance small businesses. There was nothing at all entrepreneurial about the Egyptian economy. So I wasnt thinking about some kind of big business. I was simply looking for a way to support myself as an artist in Egypt under those circumstances. But because the cost of living was low, wages were low and rents were low, I was able to start a business without any capital to think of. Through her perseverance and creativity, Randa became the first contemporary designer in Islamic metalwork to master the traditional canons of the craft and to recreate the proportions and detail that brought Islamic metalwork into its glory. Her sister, Azza Fahmy, was also at the time trying to establish herself as an artist in the Islamic tradition as a jeweller. My mother supported both me and my sister at a time when women were not encouraged to have careers. My sister, Azza, has always been my inspiration. She led the way and made it easier for me to get started. In 1981, she was a partner with Azza and Azzas husband in the opening of the Al Ain Gallery in Cairo. The gallery became an early retail outlet for her lanterns and innovative lighting designs. In 1982, she expanded her own workshop into the largest metalsmithing workshop in Egypt. Her business has grown organically, but by her own admission, without any real planning, sound management or business strategy. Businesses: Randa Fahmy Design & Manufacturing; Randa Fahmy & Associates Design Consultants Architectural finishings in metal, ceramics, wood, marble and stone; interior design consultancy Years started: 1978, 1999 Location: 22, Ibrahim Ramadan St., Boulak El Dakrour; Factory in 6th of October Industrial City, P61 Employees: 60-70 Ph: (20) 2 3274 303 Website: www.randafahmy.com Affiliations: Co-owner, Al Ain Gallery

12

At one point, I didnt even know how much money I was making whether I was in a profit or a loss. But in the mid-1990s, when the demand for her products started to skyrocket, she realized she had to change. I hadnt really noticed how much of the burden of the business Id taken on myself. I created all the designs, did all the business development, handled all the client relations, worked out all the costs, liaised with architects and contractors, managed the production, and supervised installation singlehandedly! Painfully aware of the deficiencies in her operations, she undertook an evaluation of her operating procedures and reorganized her systems. The hardest transition is to change from a microenterprise, driven by a single individual, to a larger organization that has departments and various functions to handle bigger projects. Her biggest challenge? Finding the right people to take over management responsibilities! For this, she has depended a great deal on family members and quickly admits that her brother Ali, who heads up her operations, is the backbone of her business. Her husband, a successful writer, business communicator and entrepreneur himself, has helped her to build her brand through the creation of key strategic materials that better communicated the value of her work. And, of course, Im inspired to keep going because of my beautiful, intelligent and talented daughter. Im doing this for her. In 1999, she established Randa Fahmy & Associates Design Consultants which is an interior design consultancy serving the Middle East. Today her companies employ 60-70 workers, nearly half of whom are women. And, together, with Azza, they train many other women in traditional crafts. As for the future, Randa has a new factory under construction in the 6th October Industrial City. It will have a serial production line and advanced laser and water-jet technologies so she can handle

large scale projects without killing myself. We are financing the factory ourselves, and when it opens we will be able work in a wide range of materials, brass, copper, aluminium, tin, iron, ceramics, crystal, alabaster, marble, wood, even textiles. We will be a one-stop shop for quality architectural finishings. She still has many projects in Egypt, but is currently working on projects in Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, Palestine, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, as well as the United States. I never have to solicit work. Ive built up a reservoir of completely unique knowledge in the field. By the time someone imitates me, Ive long since developed something far more complex, more subtle, more innovative and more beautiful. In that sense I dont really have competitors. What advice would she give to other women wanting to start a business? First of all, you have to love what you do. The path to success is full of ups and downs. You wont be able to sustain the effort unless you truly love your work. It should never be solely about the money. It should be about the quest for excellence. Success and profit will follow. She also offers advice to women who want to grow their enterprises. Growing your business is part of the nature of entrepreneurship. Women who want to succeed need to seek out the best possible advice to develop and manage the transition from a micro-enterprise without losing the heart and soul of the enterprise. And finally she stresses, If you are a woman entrepreneur in the Arab world, you have to develop a thick skin. Ive been lucky because I had the total and unconditional support of my family, but this is not always the case, and if it isnt, you really have to hold to a deep commitment to what youre doing. You have to have a realistic vision of what you can achieve, and the good sense to seek out the right advice to allow you to reach your goals.

13

Dr.AmanyAsfour, EmpoweredEntrepreneur

proceeded to try to get market rights to a product line of medical equipment. I got an appointment with the head of Siemens, went to Germany to meet with him, and sold him on the idea of giving me, this young woman Egyptian doctor, distribution rights for their products in the Egyptian market. I had the will, I had the education, and if you dont ask, youll never have the opportunity to be told no. You have to ask. Of course she had to have a business plan to close the deal, but sought the help she needed in putting this together and in 1998 started Cairo Scientific Corporation as a share-holding company, soliciting equity investments from a group of partners, primarily family members and friends. To finance working capital she obtained a line of credit from one of Egypts banks. She also had to negotiate credit facilities for customers buying her equipment, which she did through her suppliers and the bank. Cairo Scientific Corporation now has 46 employees, turnover of LE 35 million and handles 40 different brands of medical equipment and supplies, including ultrasound machines and diagnostic units. Siemens is still the biggest part of the business. Business: Cairo Scientific Corporation. Medical equipment and supplies company marketing to hospitals, health care facilities, medical professionals and universities in Egypt and the Middle East Year started: 1998 Location: 11 Syria St. Mohandessin, Cairo Employees: 46 Turnover: LE 35 million Ph : (20) 2 3458 450 Email : info@cairoscientific.net Website: www.cairoscientific.net Affiliations: Founder and President of the Egyptian Business Women Association (EBWA) Co-founder and Secretary General, African Society of Scientific Research and Technology Africa Coordinator for the International Federation of Business and Professional Women Member, National Research Center of Egypt

For all of Amany Asfours entrepreneurial attributes, this Founder of Cairo Scientific Corporation, grew up in a completely nonbusiness family. But she does credit her parents, who were both university professors, with having empowered her at a young age to make her own decisions. Amany graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University with a Masters degree and an MD in Paediatrics, something she had wanted to do since she was a little girl. It was the humanity of the profession that compelled her most.
It was in third year of medical school that she started her first business quite by accident. She was asked by one of her professors to help him professionally organize a medical conference. It wasnt long before she saw an opportunity to organize conferences for medical professionals as a business. So in 1984, as a young medical student, Amany boldly and confidently started International Medical Conferences, the first company in Egypt, Africa and the Arab world with this specialty. I had no experience in business and only 5000 Egyptian pounds to get things started! She approached the Egyptian Society of Young Doctors, of which she was a member, and asked them for a small office space. She lost LE 600 on her first conference but gained a lot of experience and learned useful lessons. From all the medical conferences she went on to organize, under the operating name Congress Service Center, she learned that Egypt was starting to encourage private sector companies, so she asked herself why dont I start a medical supply company? She did some research, identified the biggest medical equipment supply companies in the world, of which Siemens was one, and

14

The company has a Board of Directors and an Executive Manager who now takes care of daily operations. Amanys husband, although being very busy with a medical practice and related professional activities, including being a professor of Urology, also plays a leadership role in the business. Together, in 2004, they formed the African Society of Scientific Research and Technology (ASSRT) where Amany serves as the SecretaryGeneral. The goal of ASSRT is to promote investment in scientific research and technology to improve value-added and productivity in all sectors of Egyptian society. The aim is to foster a more favourable environment for R&D investing, not only in Egypt, but in all of Africa. In 1995, Amany started the Egyptian Women Business Association (EBWA), much to the scepticism of traditional, male dominated business associations that did not understand why she felt the need for such a thing. But as Amany explains, I felt it was important to promote the younger generation of women entrepreneurs and to give guidance to women who owned small and medium enterprises so they could be more empowered. The EWBA has 100 members, all women who have achieved some success in their own businesses and are in a position to help the women entrepreneurs who are coming up behind them. The association also supports the mainstreaming of gender in the global market. The slogan of the EBWA is Financial independence gives you the power of choice and voice. And that pretty much sums up Amany Asfours very strong view.

Since networking is crucial for anyone who wants to work at regional and international levels, she has joined many organizations focused on the empowerment of women and participates actively in these forums in Africa, Arab countries, the Mediterranean region and beyond. Among her many affiliations, Amany is also President of the African Alliance for Women Empowerment, President of the Afro-Arab Network for Women Empowerment, President of the Organization for Women in Trade in Egypt, President of the Business and Professional Women Egypt, and a member of the NEPAD Gender Task Force responsible for Trade and Market Access. She also sits on the Board of the Egyptian Society of Voice for Mentally Retarded Children and helps raise funds to establish a special village to serve these childrens needs.

Although she admits it is often a challenge, she has been able to balance her many roles as mother of three children, entrepreneur, advocate of womens economic empowerment, promoter of science and technology, and leader of a businesswomen association. It takes a strong support system which I have had to put in place, she states. Her advice to other women who want to have their own businesses? First she says, education is a must, patience, dedication and to me, believing in God. And second, you have to assume the power to achieve, to act and to implement.

15

ThourayaHelmy,Incremental Entrepreneur

Thouraya Helmy, owner of Silk in Silk, never planned have a business of her own. Quite frankly, the thought hadnt even crossed her mind when she was younger. After she graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree, she worked as an accountant in a private sector wireless communications firm for awhile and after she had children left the workforce to stay at home.
Her entrepreneurial journey started quite by accident. One day, a friend of hers dropped by and noticed some simple home products that Thouraya had made - clothes clips and shoes hangers - and asked if she would make some more that she could take as gifts to people she was going to visit in Canada. Her friend liked the gifts and encouraged Thouraya to make more that she could try to sell at an upcoming fair being held at a local sporting club. Thouraya rented half a table at the fair (for LE 16) and, although nothing on her table had a price tag of more than LE 16 per item, she took orders worth LE 700!! Encouraged by this, she participated in another fair where she had the good fortune to meet the then Minister of Social Affairs who invited her to join the productive families project. So, in 1992, with LE 50 of her own money, she started a tiny production unit in her house. Her objective at first was just to make better use of her time and to earn some extra money. She began designing and drawing patterns for new product styles, scrimping wherever she could by buying remnants of cloth from tailors to save on costs. She grew bit by bit. She hired one worker to help her and then another. Eventually, she had to take over another room in her mother-in-laws place. As she gradually expanded her product line to include embroidered bed sheets, pillowcases and

towels, she needed financing and was successful in obtaining a small loan from the Social Fund for Development (SFD). With this she was able to purchase better equipment and improve her production quality. Eventually the demand for her products grew to the point where she needed a proper production facility. She took another SFD loan and after lots of planning was able to open her new factory in the 6th of October City in 2000. Along the way, she faced many challenges: limited financial resources, complex government procedures for licensing, and a banking system that was not that interested in dealing with small enterprises on their terms. She stresses how important persistence and her willingness to face challenges were in helping to overcome any difficulties. I kept my eye on the vision I had, of what I was trying to achieve. And I had the emotional support of my family and my husband behind me. But this budding entrepreneur also had other assistance the loans from the SFD, workshops organized by the Women Business Development Centre (WBDC) that she attended, and opportunities to participate in international fairs, particularly the specialized fairs facilitated by the Industrial Modernization Center (IMC). Business: Silk in Silk Manufacturer of intricately embroidered linens, bed sheets, towels and bath robes Year started: 1992 Location: 44 El Batal Ahmed Abd Aziz St., Mohandessin (Head Office) and 6th of October City (factory) Employees: 28 Ph: (20) 2 7607 642; (20) 2 7610 776 Email: silkinsilk@yahoo.com Website: www.tradeegypt.com/silkinsilk

16

The learning I gained from these international exhibitions was invaluable. The WBDC also assisted her in developing her website on www.cleostore.com, giving her business and her products much more exposure. Silk in Silk in now a thriving business with 28 employees, more than three times the number it had in 2000. Sixty percent of the workers are women, and the company offers training annually to 12 students from the Mubarak-Kohl project. Embroidered bed sheets and towels made from Egyptian cotton have become the core part of Silk in Silks business. Thouraya markets these products through fairs and exhibitions, networking, a brochure and a show room in her Mohandessin office. Throughout the past years, she has participated in many international fairs in the United States, Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, England and other countries. In 2004, Thourayas business was chosen as among the most successful of 330,000 competitors at a conference on Arabian Women Entrepreneurs held in Dubai.

One of the most important factors in the success of my business so far, Thouraya reflects, is the credibility I have with my clients. I have worked hard to make sure that my products match my clients needs and are of high quality. I never stop learning from the feedback they give me and I have built up a lot of trust. But perhaps even more importantly, its been my own patience and commitment. And the loyalty of my team! As for the future, Thouraya has plans to export her products to international markets. To prepare for this, she has recently purchased new equipment that will professionalize both the quality and packaging of her products so they are more competitive in non-Egyptian markets. Silk in Silk is about to obtain a certificate of Quality Products from France. Another milestone that will help bolster the companys growth! The advice she would give to other women who want to start a business? You have to have a future vision. Dont underestimate your ideas. Just get started. Be persistent and face challenges. Stay committed and build credibility. A good recipe!

17

NeveenElTahri,Investing Entrepreneur
a little more than 12 years of heading her own business, Neveen El Tahri, Chairperson of Delta Securities Egypt, was awarded the Enterprising Woman of the Year at the Global Summit on Women in Mexico City in 2005, where she was also recognized for Global Leadership. This followed her Working Woman of the Year award presented in Washington in 2000. The daughter of a diplomat and the eldest of three girls, she spent much of her childhood living in places like Panama, Lebanon, Finland and London as her father followed diplomatic postings. Her family returned to Cairo when she was 15 and Neveen graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University in 1980. From there, she started a banking career with Chase National Bank; hired as a teller but quickly promoted to credit officer, and by 1992, was Assistant General Manager of Corporate Banking in charge of petroleum, electronics and tourism sectors. She resigned in mid-1992, deciding that she literally did not want to work anymore. So I stayed home for a while, spending time with my children, drying and setting flowers, doing pottery and visiting my two younger sisters in Paris and London. But as Neveen is quick to point out, I am a workaholic. I enjoy working. I enjoy accomplishing. I dont have to do things. I like to do things. After a few months, she started doing some consulting. Then a relative told her about the new Capital Markets Law that had been passed by the government to regulate Egypts capital markets and suggested that she should apply for one of the brokerage licenses. Capital markets were close to Neveens banking experience and so she applied for and received one of the first

licenses in the country. The cost of a brokerage license at that time was LE 250,000, of which she had to pay 25 percent upfront. In July 1994, with the counsel of her brother-inlaw, an auditor who helped with all the documentation required, she started Delta Stockbrokers as a shareholding company with her father and her husband as partners. I knew nothing about the brokerage business but no one else did either so we were all competing at the same level. Her most difficult challenge, interesting enough to her, was not being taken seriously by anyone in the industry! As stock market investing increased in popularity, more brokers entered the market and it quickly became crowded. Neveen had learned a little about the business on her own in the beginning, but after five or six months, she decided to bring in institutional partners, which would require her astute negotiating skills and more capital. Even the bank where I worked for many years would not take the risk. It was a dear colleague who headed HSBC who decided to give me a credit line with my family members as guarantors. With additional capitalization, she was able to bring in her first foreign investor orders. Business: Delta Securities Egypt Brokerage firm offering a range of brokerage, bookkeeping and research services to select retail clients as well as individual and institutional investors Year started: 1994 Location: 31 Geziret El Arab St., Mohandessin Ph: (20) 2 3000 301 Employees: 80 Revenue: In excess of LE 50 million Email: info@delta-securities.com Website: www.delta-securities.com Affiliations: Board member of the General Authority for Investment (GAFI); the Egyptian Arab Land Bank; and Telecom Egypt; Exmember of the Board of the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges Country Representative of ABN-AMRO Bank in Egypt

After

18

Today, Delta Securities operates with two sister companies, Delta Asset Management and Delta Capital Investments, and has a total of 80 employees. A long way from the mere seven staff she started with in 1994. Over half of her employees are women. For the year ending in 2006, her total revenue was in excess of LE 50 million. But she isnt willing to stop there. I want a full investment bank that has a strong local presence, with alliances in the Arab Region extending from the Gulf to El Magreb. To achieve this, she will bring in the right management to create a holding company for the three Delta companies and expand her operations from there. On being a woman in a male-dominated industry, Neveen comments, Its tough, because they underestimate your capabilities. But at the same time, that toughness is the reason I likely succeeded. If they underestimate you, then it is quite easy to outsmart everybody else around you. And succeed in a male-dominated profession, she has! She is the first woman to serve on the Board of the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges! She also founded the Egyptian Capital Markets Association. She advises women wanting to start a business, Be patient. But most importantly, put the right capital structure in place with the right shareholders, be sure of your strategy, and choose your senior management very carefully. And for her final point, she adds, In my experience, women wont achieve as much if support from their husband is not there. Certainly part of my own success is due to the fact that I have a very supportive and understanding husband.

Over the 1996-97 period, the Egyptian American Bank (EAB) and American Express Bank (AEB) both invested in Delta. This increase in capital had the effect of diluting Neveens ownership share, but it also brought considerable strength to her company, something she needed in order to position herself competitively in the industry. Her companys relationship with these investors lasted until 1999 when she convinced them to sell their shares to Dutch Bank ABN-AMRO, an investment bank with considerable experience in global markets. With this strategic partner on side, she established an asset management division to manage individual and corporate portfolios of Egyptian equities and put her company on a solid professional basis to compete in the marketplace with proper systems and know-how. Neveen, like most entrepreneurs, has experienced business ups and downs. When the capital markets went into a slump in 2001, she had to downsize considerably, laying off employees, moving to smaller offices, and compensating for her declining brokerage business by providing advisory and financial consulting services. Late in 2002, ABN-AMRO decided to divest its Egypt operations and Neveen bought back their shares. Delta Securities was a family business again! Since then, she has reorganized the business increased its capital, hired more employees and put more sophisticated management and financial systems in place. The market has forced me to move from the boutique I wanted, to continue to manage a large organization.

19

RandaIbrahimAbdou, ProfessionalEntrepreneur

Randa Ibrahim Abdou, Founder and CEO of Marketing Mix and the co-founder of Creative Lab, grew up in Cairo, the daughter of a university professor and writer, and a stay-at-home mom who was active in Egyptian politics. They taught her that, nothing in life comes easy, and that she would have to work for the things she wanted.
Her entrepreneurial flair became evident at a very early age. When I was a child, I used to read two books a day. In the morning, I would buy a book for 15 piasters, then by midday, sell the book for 11 piasters, save up my proceeds, and go buy another one, Randa laughs. With a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from the American University in Cairo and a Master of Science in International Marketing from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, she was quickly scooped up by the multinationals after graduation. She gained experience as an Account Executive at Americana Advertising, a Market Research Planning Manager at Proctor & Gamble Egypt, and the Marketing Manager at PepsiCo Foods Egypt. Her decision to start a business was prompted in 1996 when PepsiCo Foods offered her a move from the marketing department into business development. Wanting to stay in the marketing end of the business, which she loved, she started thinking there might be an opportunity to carve out a niche for a new kind of marketing support company in Egypt, one that would serve the unmet needs of local companies that could not afford to have their own in-house marketing departments despite being in great need of marketing and brand-building support.

As the potential to have her own company became more real in her mind, she decided to take the plunge, quit her job and started Marketing Mix, Egypts first private marketing consultancy business created by a practitioner with multinational marketing experience, as she describes it. Her friends thought she was crazy! She was trading a safe job with a steady pay cheque for an uncertain future with no guarantee of ultimate success! Randa admits that the decision was not without risks. Although I believed in myself and I was confident I could do it, she confides, I did keep asking myself, what if I fail then what? But soon she was approached by her first client and from that point on stayed focused on serving the client well and building the business. I started from home, she says. I had my computer, my phone, my fax I didnt need much start-up investment. For the first six months she worked alone. It was tough having to do everything all by myself, she admits, but I couldnt afford to hire anyone, and I knew that I was building something for me. Early in 1997, when she really needed to bring in someone with marketing expertise to help her, she convinced, Mohamed Khalifa, a man she had met while working at PepsiCo to join her as a partner. And in 1999, the growing company took in a third partner, Ahmed Abdoun. Businesses: Marketing Mix; Creative Lab Marketing consultancy firm and advertising agency Years started: 1996, 2001 Location: 28 Tiba, 5th Floor, Mohandessin Employees: 28 Volume of business: Total client marketing budgets approaching LE 75 million Ph: (20) 012 1042 189 Email: info@creativelab-adv.com Website: www.creativelab-adv.com

20

The decision to have partners was a crucial one for Randa, but in hindsight, she says, It was the smartest thing I did in building the business. First, they took some of the load of growing the business off of my shoulders and second, they brought their own unique skills and expertise to the Marketing Mix. Making them partners also reduced the risk that they would leave the company. In 2001, the three partners started a sister company, Creative Lab, to be the advertising arm of Marketing Mix. Today, the two companies employ 28 people and base their earnings on clients marketing budgets exceeding LE 75 million. Randa is very proud of the fact that her companies work has led to significant market growth for the majority of her client firms. However, the business has not been without its ups and downs. In 2002, Marketing Mix lost a major client that accounted for about 60 percent of its income. It was a dark day for us, but the next day I said to everyone, this is life. Lets go and get new business and learn a lesson from this. So they diversified their client base to include a number of smaller accounts in a variety of different sectors so the ups and downs of one sector wouldnt have such an impact on the business. Now, if we lose a client, no problem we have plenty of others, and the impact is not as significant.

The key to success of Randas companies is the strong professional reputation for delivering effective marketing solutions in a highly professional and ethical manner. You have to build your business on values, no matter what it takes. You may encounter short-term financial losses along the way when you stick to your values, and you may be tempted to compromise them, but in the long term it will pay off. These values are important in Egypt, as they are everywhere, she says. What about future plans? How to grow regionally is the one thing that keeps me awake at night, says Randa. We want to become the first Egyptian marketing consultancy to become established in the Gulf Region, while still maintaining the high level of quality that we have here in Cairo. Her advice to other women wanting to start a business? Learn first, gain experience, and then start the business. Going into business without experience increases your chance of failure. And dont be afraid to invest in people and to do whatever it takes to get the right partners and employees on board.

21

AzzaElMahdy,Flowering Entrepreneur

Azza El Mahdy, owner of Audriana Flowers, with eight greenhouses located just outside of Cairo, is a pioneer in the growing of flowers in Egypt. But until about seven years ago growing flowers had only been a hobby.
Although she was born in Egypt, she spent much of her childhood in the United States where her father was pursuing a PhD program. Her mother, who loved gardening, died when Azza was 13, the year after the family returned to Egypt. But fond memories of her mother growing flowers in the beauty of her back yard garden made an ever-lasting impression on Azza as a young girl. She went on to study literature and American drama at Cairo University and during her second year of studies, started working part-time as an airline hostess, which ended up being her full-time occupation for 20 years. On her travels to various parts of the world, she would buy flower seeds, and experiment with growing them in her own back yard garden. After 20 years of working, Azza married for the second time. Her new husband insisted that she quit working and so she left her job to stay at home. The marriage turned out to be a failure and when she finally divorced, Azza decided to turn her flower-growing hobby into a business as a way to survive. In late 1999, Azza recalls, I bought a half feddan of land on Mansoureya Road, built a small house, hired two workers, and set about growing flowers for the local market. She faced many challenges during the first four years of the business. I really didnt have any business management skills and it was almost impossible to find professionals with know-how in flower growing. To improve her management

skills, she attended a number of seminars at the Women Business Development Center. But what helped her most was participating in study tours to Kenya and Holland to visit other flower growers and meet with flower growing experts who could point to studies and publications that helped with the transfer of technical and professional knowhow. These study tours were organized by the HEIA, an organization that promotes the exporting of agricultural products with project support from USAID. The Flower Growers Council within HEIA has 21 flower growers Azza is the only woman in the group! In fact, as she emphatically declares, I am the only woman I know growing flowers in Egypt. Its not an easy job. Flowers are very sensitive. You have to check on them every day. Its a seven-day workweek. You have to work hard. And theres a lot of capital investment. Four years into the venture she decided to try her hand at exporting which meant expanding her operation. So she rented five more feddans of land, the minimal she says is needed for a truly viable flower-growing enterprise. With the help of HEIA, she did a study of the market demand in Holland and Kenya. But to meet the demands of an export market she would have to have to invest more capital to upgrade her greenhouses and build a cool storage facility, plus learn more of the ins and outs of exporting procedures. Business: Audriana Flowers Grower and wholesaler of exclusive rare collections of cut flowers for local markets Year started: Late 1999 Location: Mansoureya Road Employees: 8 Capital investment: LE 300,000 Ph : (20) 010 1960 086 Email : azzaelmahdy@yahoo.com Affiliations: Member, Flower Growers Council within HEIA

22

To obtain the financing she would need for the expansion, she took in a partner, Gehan El Baghdady, who was in the vegetable growing business and so understood some of the growth challenges. A year later, they obtained their first order from the Netherlands and in January 2004, Audriana Flowers showed up in the cut flowers international gallery, a big event for the company. Unfortunately, Azza considers her exporting attempt a disappointment. My freight costs were high, I was paying a high import cost on the seeds I was bringing in from Holland, and I found it hard to compete with growers in Kenya and South America. I was not only losing money but I had lots of other problems including finding workers competent in supervising my greenhouses. So I abandoned my exporting plan, at least for awhile. When this happened, Gehan left the partnership and Azza continued on her own.

Audriana Flowers now has eight greenhouses, employs a total of eight employees and produces and sells a wide range of flowers, including lilium, calla, lisianthus, chrysanthemus, trachlium, euphoria, tulips, roses and other special species, supplying local flower shops and some exporting wholesalers.

As for the future? Azza would still like to expand, even try exporting again, but this time to Arab countries with customized flowers meeting clients specific requirements. Right now, Azza says, I feel that Im doing something Im happy with and Im proud of the fact that I can help the people who work for me by training them and giving them knowledge. Her advice to other women who want to have a business is simple. If shes in the flower business, she has to be patient because it takes a lot of time and she has to work hard.

23

Dr.AmiraBoshra,Scientific Entrepreneur

husband and my own determination, I wouldnt have gotten though it all! It took a lot of capital investment. Amira needed about LE 700,000 for the project, most of which came from her own savings, plus a small loan from the Social Fund for Development (SFD). Finally, the factory opened in late 1999, and QualiBeauty Egypt was officially born! She started out small, in the beginning producing only hennas and powders with no additives. She gradually diversified her product line to include shampoos, hair balsams, acetones, and shower gels, products she formulated based on an analysis of the behaviours and needs of Egyptian women and lots of experimentation in her research lab. Initially, she also hired and trained workers herself, but since has been able to employ a qualified PhD in her factory to monitor quality control in the production. Amira credits the National Council for Womens Women Business Development Center (WBDC) for providing tremendous support. They helped me with marketing lessons, whatever I needed, they were there. Business: Quali-Beauty Egypt Manufacture and wholesale distribution of shampoos, creams, soaps, oils (under Chantal brand name) and liquid soap (under Marmar brand name) to supermarkets, pharmacies and wholesalers Year started: 1999 Location: Badr Industrial City Employees: 15 Turnover: LE 300,000 Ph: (20) 2 8641 212 Email: manna@menanet.net Website: www.cleostore.com

Dr.

Amira Boshra, President of QualiBeauty Egypt, didnt grow up wanting to have her own business in fact she wanted to become a dentist. But her father, who always pushed her to be number one, motivated in her a drive to be the best at whatever she did.

In university she had many interests. After studying French in undergraduate school, she entered the Faculty of Science in Biochemistry at Ain Shams University and then pursued a doctorate in pharmacy. When she graduated with her PhD, she had the option to join the faculty as a professor but instead chose to work in medical laboratories. Over the next 10 years, she gained product and marketing management experience working in large multinational companies - Yardleys, LOreal and Estee Lauder - in England and France. Then Amira decided to return to Egypt and start her own laboratory that would make and sell a line of cosmetics for the Egyptian market that she would formulate herself. I was a biochemist, I had learned a lot from the big companies about product quality and how to manage, so it was easy for me to manufacture cosmetics. And I really wanted to do something on my own. She had bought a piece of land in Badr Industrial City in 1992, but didnt start building her factory until 1995. It took the next five years to get it ready. Every single thing was a problem, she says, getting building permits, registering the business, electricity hook-ups, health and fire inspections, everything was very difficult. I had to work hard every day. I really wanted to do this. I wanted success. But if it hadnt been for God, my

24

In February 2006, the WBDC entered into a contract with the National Post Authority to deliver businesswomens products to customers in governorates all over the country. This was an important event for all businesswomen in Egypt. In the case of Amiras company, it has meant the delivery of two tons of her product to the Sohag governorate. The SFD is also eager to help her with whatever she needs. In 2007, Quali-Beauty Egypt has 15 full-time employees and hires casual workers to deal with peak periods. Her capital investment has increased to almost LE 3 million. She produces 29 different products under the Chantal and Marmar labels shampoos, soaps, creams and lotions, oils, and liquid detergents. Three of her employees work in sales along with Amira, who also spends a lot of time on market development.

Quali-Beauty Egypt sells to Oscars and other large supermarkets and pharmacies in Egypt. In July 2006, she secured the Carrefours account. Being in Carrefours is a big deal for my company. They ask for new orders every week. Although she admits its expensive to get listed as a supplier to the big chains. I have to pay them for every product they shelve, Amira states. As for the future growth potential of Quali-Beauty Egypt, Amira has big plans. She is currently only using 600 square metres of her 1200 square metre factory so has the capacity to double her production. I want to go to every single pharmacy, every single supermarket, and have my products on their shelves. I want to have franchises with strong partners and open Chantal stores everywhere. Her biggest challenge is establishing a stronger distribution system. Amiras advice to other women who want to start a business is straightforward. Make sure you choose something you love and where you have know-how. Never stop thinking. You have to be thinking all the time.

I am learning the market. I do lots of market research on the Egyptian consumers needs and spend a lot of time traveling to see whats new in other places to compare. Establishing her brands in the market is critical. I advertise everywhere in magazines, on FM radio, and do lots of fairs and exhibitions to build exposure for my product lines and find distributors. Delivering high quality products in a well and finely designed package is her main strategy for distinguishing her products in local and international markets.

25

HebaElShenawey,Fast trackingEntrepreneur
her Cairo University Dentistry degree in hand, Heba El Shenawey, who grew up in Port Said, spent about a year in private dental practice before discovering that she didnt really want to be a dentist after all! So when she was offered a position with Plaxo, the big drug company, she started working for them in product management. In the world of private industry, she found that women wore more classic dress styles than she was used to. Unable to find much of what she wanted, in a wide range of styles and sizes, within Egypt, she expanded her search to places like Istanbul and Paris, where she found a much broader selection of the right clothes for her new work environment. And thats when the idea came to her, why not import some of these clothes and retail them in Cairo to other women like me? So while still in her job at Plaxo, she rented a small 120 square metre space in the Heliopolis area, imported about 500 pieces of inventory, and opened Femina Ladies Wear. It was October 2000. After four or five months, Heba realized that she would have to commit to the business full time if she wanted to build a brand for her nascent store. So she quit her Plaxo job and became a fulltime entrepreneur with four employees. Before long, she discovered that her imported womens wear didnt quite match the preferences of her Egyptian customers. Jackets were too short, pants werent long enough. She would have to design and manufacture her own line of clothing! But, to support the output of even a small factory, she needed more retail capacity, so she opened a second store in Mohandessin, this time with 300 square metres. Then Heba set about designing

styles of the garments she wanted, including accessories. Within a year of starting her first shop in Heliopolis, she opened a factory in a small rented apartment in Giza, starting with 15 employees. She brought in specialists and experts to train her workers in quality production and enrolled in courses in marketing, retailing, and fashion designing because, as she states, that part wasnt my base I just had the talent to choose good clothes! She still commits to taking at least two courses a year and goes to lots of exhibitions to learn from other experts. After the factory started, everything changed my colors, my styles - and women started coming to shop at my stores from all over Egypt. Eager to meet the growing demand from women in other parts of the country, she soon opened a third retail outlet in Alexandria. Initially I just wanted a small shop. I didnt want a factory and a big store. But when I saw that women needed my designs, I felt it was my role to make products of high quality, fashionable design and reasonable price. By 2007 she had six stores, four in Cairo and two in Alexandria, had moved her factory into a much bigger rented space and secured a warehouse. She employs 212 people in her manufacturing, distribution and retail operations, working in two shifts a day. Sales have grown exponentially from LE 284,000 in 2001 to over LE 14 million in 2006. Business: Femina for Ready Made Garments Design, manufacture and retail of fashionable clothing for the Egyptian woman through a chain of branded and company-owned retail stores Year started: 2000 Location: Several in Cairo and Alexandria Employees: 212 Turnover: LE 14.1 million Ph: (20) 2 4189 390 Affiliations: Member of the Egyptian Business Women Association

With

26

Hebas factory produces 30,000 garments each season a full line of casual, smart casual, classic and evening wear, a line of modern hijabs for Muslim women, plus accessories. She deals with suppliers in Egypt, Turkey, Hong Kong and China. And because her garment company is for women, most of her managers are also women. I like the fact that I can give young women an opportunity to work in the private sector so they can learn responsibility and gain experience. So how did this young 30-year old woman with no business experience make all of this happen? To raise the LE 100,000 it took to open her very first store, she pulled out all stops - sold her car, took all of her savings, borrowed privately, and arranged a credit facility. She rented her factory space in order to minimize the capital investment and used a credit facility to pay for machines, equipment and inventory. But as she says, It wasnt easy to create a new brand. In the beginning I had problems with cash flow and had to borrow money from my husband and father to get me through some crisis periods. Heba is quick to admit that her husband was a big help in other ways as well. With his background in accounting and retailing, he was able to offer her useful advice, as well as take care of problems with the business licensing process and the legal and tax issues. She has been able to finance her recent growth by reinvesting her profits. The key to her success so far has been a wellexecuted strategy that includes attending international fashion trade shows to stay abreast of the latest designs, colors and fabrics; advanced stock management systems; a just-in-time distribution system; innovative merchandising; and employee development programs.

Heba has big plans for the future. First in Egypt, I am planning to move my factory to a Free Trade Zone to ease problems with customs procedures on my imported fabrics and accessories. Plus, I want to open up more retail branches in Cairo and Alexandra and other areas within Egypt. To supply the new stores, I will need more production capacity. I have 50 machines now. I plan to have 200! Second, I want Femina to be an international brand. I am negotiating franchising agreements in Romania right now and want to do the same thing in Jordan and maybe Saudi Arabia. Theres obviously no stopping this young fasttracking entrepreneur! Her advice to other women who want to start a business? Even if you start a very small business, you must do everything right. At first I made a lot of mistakes. You have to do things in the right way, which is often the hard way. But if things are done right in the beginning, and you succeed, it will be easier to grow.

27

AbouttheSmallandMediumEnterprisePolicyDevelopmentProject (SMEPoL)
The Small & Medium Enterprise Policy Development Project is a partnership between the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the International Development Research Center (IDRC). The projects purpose is to support the Government of Egypt, through the Ministry of Finance and other partners, in the development of improved collaborative implementation mechanisms for policies, legislation, and regulations supporting micro, small and medium enterprise (M/SME) development. It commenced as a four-year project in June 2000 and was extended to July 2006. Another extension to January 2008 is intended to implement policies developed throughout the first phases of the project. The overall impact of the project is to have an improved and gender-sensitive policy environment for M/SME development, which is to be achieved through the following outcomes: 1. The Ministry of Finance and its partners have supported the implementation of gender sensitive policies, legislation and regulations that facilitate M/SME development. 2. Improved gender-sensitive knowledge and information made available to stakeholders on M/SME development issues. 3. More participatory and inclusive measures of consultation established to refine and implement specific M/SME policies, regulations and legislation. The SMEPol Project supports gender equality in all of its activities with a particular priority on gender issues in SME development. One of the indicators to measure the projects performance is reduction in obstacles to the full participation of women in SME activities. To this end, SMEPol is conducting a gender perspective review of selected previously conducted studies to identify gender-specific issues which need to be addressed in areas related to financing and legislations and procedures affecting the establishment and growth of M/SMEs. The Project carries out consultations with other donor projects to grasp their hands-on experience regarding gender issues in M/SME development. In addition, the Project seeks to ensure a representation of women entrepreneurs in the many policy consultations, workshops, and conferences facilitated to discuss policy issues and recommendations. In 2006, the Project created a Discussion Forum for the purpose of examining methods of enhancing womens entrepreneurship in Egypt and to promote the sharing of experience and knowledge on the subject. The Forum includes as members researchers, donors, and key organizations concerned about these issues.
For more information, please contact Ministry of Finance SMEPol Project 1 Bostan St., Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt Tel.: (202) 5789443 5789129 Fax: (202) 7730139 E-mail: info@sme.gov.eg Website: www.sme.gov.eg

28