Industry

With a population of close to 90m, Egypt is the biggest consumer market in the MENA region and one of the largest emerging markets in the world. While average incomes are still fairly low – Egypt’s GDP per capita, according to the World Bank, reached $3314 in 2013 – the country presents a huge opportunity for manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs). FMCGs encompass...

Unsurprisingly, given its comparative advantages as a manufacturing hub and its sizeable consumer market, Egypt is the third-largest car manufacturing country in Africa, after South Africa and Morocco, according to the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA). The automotive manufacturing sector has a range of major international brands present, as well...

A large and growing population, restored economic growth and low penetration all make Egypt’s retail market a strong prospect for investors. Household retail spending was worth about $90.3bn in 2013, according to the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), a state agency, and is expected to keep rising at a steady clip over the next few years. Modern retail...

For decades Egypt has been a significant energy exporter and one of the MENA region’s largest centres for manufacturing, with the latter having traditionally benefitted significantly from the former. Sizeable reserves of natural gas and crude have allowed the country to provide energy at low prices to large industrial consumers, such as steel and cement producers. However,...

Heavy industry has been one of Egypt’s traditional stalwart sectors, with a lineage dating back decades and several large capacity facilities, and nowhere is this more evident than in steel. Egypt produced 6.8m tonnes of steel in 2013, up from 6.6m tonnes in 2012 and 6.5m tonnes in 2011, and nudging it up to the word’s 23rd biggest steel producer, from 24th and overtaking the...