VZCZCXYZ0019
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #2214/01 3341457
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301457Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4347
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS CAIRO 002214 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ELA 
STATE PASS TO S/P GREG BEHRMAN 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
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