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

Next Tuesday marks the first day of the highly anticipated annual two-day competition, the Enactus Egypt National Competition. Some of you may be unfamiliar with the Enactus organisation, but don’t fret, because that’s what we’re here for; to increase awareness about one of the biggest youth entrepreneurship associations in the world!

The story of Enactus, originally called SIFE, started in 1975 in the United States. Their motto is “We believe investing in students, who take ENtrepreneurial ACTion for others, creating a better world for US all.” You’ll notice that if you combine the letters that we’ve written in capitals, it spells out ENACTUS. In other words, Enactus is an international organisation that ignites business innovation and sparks social enterprise in students, who are the future academic and business leaders of our time. You can learn more about it via this orientation video.

Enactus Egypt, led by Country Director, Fatma Sirry, is a member of the 36-country global network. According to the Enactus Worldwide website, our country has 44 active teams, 4,590 students, 76 projects, with over 200,000 volunteering hours so far. The Board of Directors consists of prominent names and titles in the corporate world, including the Chairman & CEO of Giza Systems, Shehab El Nawawi; Public Affairs & Communications Senior Manager at Coca Cola, Ghada Makady; and CEO of Orange Egypt, Yasser Shaker.

As for the competition, every year, all native teams compete against each other in their respective countries. The victorious team joins a select group of 3,000 students, according to the Enactus World Cup site, who meet at Enactus World Cup to showcase the entrepreneurial action and shared innovation that transforms lives and creates a better future. This year’s world cup will take place in San Jose, California, on the 16^th-18^th of September.     

Who should we be on the lookout for in this year’s Egyptian participants? Well, after a cursory analysis of the winners over the past few years, Enactus Cairo (2015 & 2017), Enactus BUE (2016), and the most recent winner of 2018, Enactus October 6 University (O6U) seem like the ones to beat. Be sure to watch this contagiously stimulating flashback video from last year’s national competition: 

In conclusion, if you’re a college student and feel interested and passionate in being part of a memorable and life-changing experience, check for an Enactus branch in your university and join. Even if you can’t find one, take the initiative and start the first Enactus program in your university! We truly wish all the teams the best of luck with the competition. Only one team can bring the world cup home, but at the end of the day, it’s all about serving and impacting our community (and maybe a bit of winning as well).