For the third year, the AUC School of Business is organizing a high-level forum during the period of March 13-17, 2022. The forum will include roundtable discussions where renowned and distinguished scholars, practitioners from business and industry as well as policy makers from Egypt, Africa and other parts of the world will discuss timely and relevant issues. In addition to the stimulating discussions, this year will also be witnessing the start of new initiatives on the local, regional and global level.
#1 Roundtable Discussion
Investing in Tech Startups: The Road Ahead
Venture capital (VC) and angel investment in technology-enabled startups in Egypt and the region has witnessed a point of inflection. In 2021, VC investments in Egypt accounted for $445 million, rising from $141 million in 2020 and $85 million in 2019. This figure is estimated to cross the $1 billion in 2022. The number of startups that raised funding, whether early-stage seed funding or growth funding also grew to 115 tech-enabled startups in 2021. This growth is driven by a global growth in VC investments, as well as local acceleration of the entrepreneurship support system, enabling government policies, digital transformation, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic.
Date & Time
Monday, March 14, 2022
Cairo Time 12:00-2:00 pm
GMT 10:00am-12:00pm
#2 Roundtable Discussion
“The Future of Corporate Learning and Development”
Human resource professionals have been overwhelmed with finding innovative solutions for business continuity while maintaining the well-being of their staff over the past two years. Lockdown, co-existing with the pandemic, agility, mental health, remote work, post-pandemic outlook, future of work skills, talent retention, are some of the words we have become more and more familiar with. How has this changed the corporate learning and development landscape? Are global trends reflected in emerging markets? What are the firm level challenges in Egypt? How can university based executive education provide relevant solutions?
These are the questions that will be tackled in this roundtable on The Future of Corporate Learning and Development. International experts will provide an overview of global trends from research conducted for UNICON (the global consortium for university based executive education). Key findings from research on the learning and development landscape in Egypt conducted by AUC will be presented as well as local insights from the Human Resources (Talent Management) committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. Firm level challenges will be discussed by representatives from banks and manufacturing companies in Egypt. Finally, we will explore relevant solutions that business schools can offer.
Date & Time
Monday, March 14, 2022
Cairo Time 4:00-5:30 pm
GMT 2:00-3:30pm
#3 Roundtable Discussion
The United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) Initiative and PRME Chapter Africa Launch
The Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) is an initiative of the United Nations Global Compact, a global intergovernmental organization that calls on the private sector to take action and contribute to social and environmental needs as expressed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Complementary to and in support of this call to business, the focus of PRME is to build awareness of sustainability and the SDGs at business schools and universities around the world by integrating the SDGs into the teaching, research and practices of these institutions. The aim is to ensure that current and future business leaders have the understanding, knowledge and capabilities they need to make decisions that balance economic priorities with social and environmental imperatives, in order to deliver positive change and create a better world for all.
PRME Chapter Africa is aimed at bringing PRME closer to the needs, aspirations, challenges and opportunities that are unique to African countries at a local and regional level. PRME Chapter Africa now becomes the newest of over 15 Chapters across the world and will work in cooperation with the existing Global Compact Local Networks across Africa.
PRME Chapter Africa offers a specific platform for dialogue, learning, and action on responsible management, leadership education, and research in Africa, for Africa, by Africans. This new venture will support and promote meaningful action towards tackling the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through cooperation and partnerships between business schools and universities across Africa.
Date & Time
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Cairo Time 12:00 – 1:45 pm
GMT 10:00am-11:45pm
#4 Roundtable Discussion
Just Transition for Africa: The Role of Business Schools
Across the world, the evidence of the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, flooding, drought, wild fires, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and other devastating natural disasters is plain to see. The conversation across the world about climate change and its impact on communities, livelihoods and businesses has grown in intensity and urgency over the past few years. There was intense scrutiny over the outcomes of COP 26 in Glasgow towards the end of last year. Again, the world and Africa is looking for meaningful action as the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as the Conference of Parties – COP 27 is being hosted in Egypt in November 2022.
We take this opportunity to consider the issues and challenges across the African continent and how climate action in Africa is not only about the transition from an economy based on fossil fuels to the so-called ‘net-zero’ economy or low carbon economy. It is also about the impact of climate change and the energy transition on people, the way of life and livelihoods of families and communities, with many living in poverty, without access to secure supplies of energy and water, poor infrastructure and high unemployment, especially for youth and women. This means that there is an urgent need to consider not only the energy transition but also the social justice of how the transition is managed.
Date & Time
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Cairo Time 2:00-3:30 pm
GMT 12:00-1:30 pm
#5 Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration
A Catalyst for an Inclusive Sustainable Development
When it comes to climate action, a sustainable and just transition is a top priority on the economic, social, and political agendas. Private sector, academia and international networks must join forces in order to create a true and impactful change. In this roundtable, they will all come together to discuss how they can collaborate on achieving this objective. The discussion seeks to address the challenges and opportunities presented in incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in their daily practices, and explore ways of maximizing the societal impact of such practices. With Egypt hosting COP27 in November 2022, this roundtable will additionally share knowledge and experience about responsible business, climate change action and Net Zero initiatives, and explore ways of how universities, research centers, private sector and international networks can collectively contribute to the narrative on sustainable and inclusive development.
Date & Time
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Cairo Time 5:00- 6:30 pm
GMT 3:00- 4:30 pm
#6 Launching Egypt Impact Lab to Strengthen Evidence-Informed Policy and Improve Development Outcomes for Egyptians
The Egyptian Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Middle East and North Africa (J-PAL MENA) at the American University in Cairo (AUC) are proud to announce the launch of the “Egypt Impact Lab” on Thursday, March 17, 10:00 am to 1:30 pm. The lab is aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of Egypt’s poverty reduction policies by rigorously evaluating promising and innovative government programs and using results to inform scale decisions.
The event will feature keynote speeches by H.E. Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Ahmad S. Dallal, AUC President, and Professor Abhijit Banerjee, Nobel Prize winner.
Date & Time
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Cairo Time 10:00-1:30 am
GMT 8:00-11:30 am