Cablegate: Egypt: Nominees for the Presidential Summit On

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P 301457Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4347
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DEPT FOR NEA/ELA
STATE PASS TO S/P GREG BEHRMAN

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TAGS: ECON EAID PREL SOCI EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT: NOMINEES FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL SUMMIT ON
ENTREPRENEURSHIP

REF: STATE 112468

1. In response to reftel, Post offers the following twelve names to
attend the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington:

-- Basil El Baz, Founder and Chairman, Egypt Basic Industries
Corporation. The first Egyptian company created solely from
international finance, EBIC received support from the U.S. Trade and
Development Agency as well as the U.S. Export-Import Bank. It has
become a leading regional company in the downstream natural gas
industry.

-- Hassan El-Khatib, Managing Director of the Carlyle Group Egypt.
He also serves as the president of the Egyptian Junior Business
Association (EJB), one of the country's most prominent organizations
dedicated to educating and supporting young entrepreneurs. Under
El-Khatib's leadership, the EJB designed the first nationwide
business plan competition to target existing and potential small and
medium entrepreneurs.

-- Amr Gohar CEO and Managing Director, National Telecom Cards
(NTC). Gohar directs NTC, Egypt's fastest growing prepaid telephony
Service Provider, with nationwide operations across Egypt. He is
also the president of the Middle East Council for Small Business and
Entrepreneurship, which promotes entrepreneurship and small
businesses in Egypt and the Middle East.

-- Laila Kamel Iskandar, Chairperson of CID Consulting, works with
rural and urban communities on garbage recycling projects designed
to create jobs and support the start-up of small industries. She
was named the Egyptian social entrepreneur of the year in 2006 by
Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif.

-- Neveen El Tahri, Chairwoman, Delta Securities Egypt. El Tahri
directs one of Egypt's leading brokerage, auditing, and research
companies. She became the first woman to serve on the boards of the
Cairo and Alexandria stock exchanges. She was recognized as the
"Enterprising Woman of the Year" at a global women's summit in
Mexico City in 2005.

-- Mohamed El Sawy, Chairman, El Sawy Center. A well-known and
respected social entrepreneur, El Sawy has established cultural
venues that support young artists in the performing and fine arts.
He also provides meeting places for disadvantaged Cairo youth and is
working to build a network of cultural centers throughout Egypt.

-- Helmy Abouleish, Founder, the Egyptian National Competitiveness
Council and co-owner of SEKEM. One of Egypt's most dynamic
businessmen, Abouleish directs SEKEM which produces agriculture
items, pharmaceuticals, organic textiles and foodstuffs. Under his
leadership, SEKEM won the Schwab Foundation's "Right Livelihood
Award" in 2003.

-- Hala El Said, Executive Director of the Egyptian Banking
Institute. El Said leads the Egyptian Central Bank's training
organization, which is dedicated to building the human resource
capability of the country's banking sector and works with banking
professionals all across Egypt.

-- Ibrahim Abouleish, President, Sekem Development Foundation. Dr.
Abouleish directs this multi-functional company that includes the
world's largest bio-dynamic farm, medical center, produce and
processed food trading companies, a vocational technical center, and
a school. In the 30 years since SEKEM was established, Dr.
Abouleish has created a corporation based on innovative agricultural
products and a responsibility towards society and environmental
sustainability.

-- Amany Asfour, President of Cairo Scientific Corporation (CSC) and
President of the Egyptian Business Women Association (EBWA).
Dr. Asfour founded CSC in 1998 to provide medical equipment and
supplies to hospitals, health care facilities, and universities in
Egypt and the region. Dr. Asfour also started the EBWA in the
mid-1990s to promote young female entrepreneurs and to give guidance
to small and medium enterprises; the organization has more than 100
members, all of whom are women.

-- Karim Fanous, Executive Director, The Lead Foundation. Under
Fanous, the foundation has focused on providing poor and low-income
entrepreneurs with sustainable access to quality microfinance
services. In the past 5 years, the Lead Foundation has made over USD
1 million in loans to over 425,000 entrepreneurs and has become the
fastest growing microfinance institution in Egypt - 90 percent
classified as poor and 84 percent women.

-- Azza Fahmy, CEO of Azza Fahmy Jewelry. An internationally
recognized jewelry designer who has exhibited her products globally,
Fahmy built her company from scratch and has succeeded in a
traditional Egyptian male-dominated industry. Her US clientele

includes museums, department stores.

2. Post designed this list of business and social entrepreneurs to
represent a group of dynamic and pioneering Egyptian leaders. The
candidates nominated in the above list possess the financial means
to travel to the U.S. if selected to participate in the summit.
Post will submit biographies and detailed justifications separately
by email.

Scobey

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