The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Featured Image via Enactus Cairo                   

There’s a famous quote that says, “The harder you work for something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it.” This is the theme for today’s article and the motto of the featured Egyptian champions, Enactus Cairo, the first Egyptian team of students from a public university in history to win the Enactus World Cup. 

For those who don’t remember, we had published a piece around two months ago, about a team from Cairo University, led by its president, Karim Amin, that won the annual Enactus Egypt National Competition, run by Country Director, Fatma Serry. What is Enactus? It’s a 36-country, global network that encourages business innovations and social enterprises created by students across the world.

Since that shining moment in July, we followed their progress until a few hours ago, when Enactus Cairo was finally crowned the 2019 Enactus World Cup Champions. The focus here is not only the outcome but also all the events that led up to this well-earned and history-making announcement.

As previously mentioned, the more efforts you exert, the higher the sense of satisfaction. Following this logic, and based on the pure joy and excitement (which is an understatement) witnessed in the crowning moment, one can deduce that the team must have poured so much sweat and tears since they began their journey in October 2018.                                                         

Via Enactus 

Not to mention the impeccable final round presentation, against Canada, USA, and Germany, with soundtracks perfectly matching every phase in their project, especially the emotional parts, the eloquent presenters that exuded confidence and pride, and the mesmerising visuals that documented every working moment in front of a live audience of thousands, including competing teams, judges, and attendees from all over the world. All in all, the elements aligned to create the optimum image, celebrating the heritage of Egypt. 

You’re probably wondering what this award-winning project is, so let’s shed some light on it. To directly quote the team, their project, Rosie, is a “high quality organic sanitary pad made by women for women”. It all started when they discovered the tragic reality, where two-thirds of women in rural villages can neither afford nor access sanitary pads, thus resulting in an increase of school dropouts and unemployment amongst girls and women.

Activated by their entrepreneurial drive, they spent over 5,000 hours of research, conducted over 60 focus groups, as well as several interviews and field visits to eventually reach a functional, hygienic, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective solution, Rosie. It’s a pad, accredited by the Egyptian Ministry of Health, made of banana fibres (a material two times more absorbent than other chemical alternatives), Egyptian cotton, and hydrophobic fabric. 

In conclusion, even though Enactus Cairo had qualified for the world cup twice in the past, and once under SIFE Cairo University, this year will forever be carved in the entity’s memories and cemented in Enactus and Egyptian history. Very soon, the YouTube version of the entire presentation will be uploaded so you can learn more about the intriguing details of Rosie, and their central hubs in Sudan and Uganda.