Industry & Retail

With a long-established presence of large-scale manufacturing capacity and a rapidly expanding domestic market, Egypt’s industrial sector will remain critical for job creation and regional development. Government strategies to expand production capacity into Upper Egypt are expected to improve employment options, and investment into road and railway links will also be critical to ensure that this manufacturing capacity can be developed with a close connection with logistics networks. Moreover, with a population of nearly 100m, expanding by roughly 2m every year, Egypt remains a sizable market for retailers and fast-moving consumer goods manufacturers. However, economic instability and the devaluation of the pound have brought new challenges and a need for the sector to adapt to remain competitive. Modern retail areas are nevertheless expanding, and customers are increasingly interested in interacting with retailers through new technologies, bringing new opportunities for the sector to expand in order to cater to changing consumer trends. This chapter contains an interview with Tawfeek Laham, CEO, Middle East Glass.