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ONE VISION, MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
With my term as AmCham Egypt president drawing to a close, I’m looking back on the last two years with gratitude and pride. When my colleagues and I ran for office, we emphasized the importance of teamwork. We hoped to extend AmCham’s resources deeper into the community, and to interact with our counterparts regionally and in the US while increasing our knowledge and opportunities. Thanks to the combined efforts of members, management and staff, AmCham Egypt has long been admired as one of the largest and most active American Chamber chapters. But in demonstrating what a group of dedicated individuals with shared goals can accomplish, we also prove our value as a positive force in civil society, serving Egypt’s interests at home and abroad.
Egypt’s private sector is maturing along with the economy, and taking on greater responsibilities. The global financial crisis has only underlined what we already knew: that we can’t afford wasted effort, and only informed, coordinated actions will guarantee success. Through conferences and panel discussions we examined the issues, including human resource development, private-public partnerships, corporate social responsibility and US-Egypt trade. Our 22 committees, comprised of some of Egypt’s leading thinkers and decision-makers, outlined the challenges facing each sector, formulating alternatives while offering feedback on recent reforms.
As always, we hosted high-ranking officials to exchange views. But we also cooperated with other organizations essential to the dialogue, including the Federation of Egyptian Industries, the Anti-Trust Authority and the newly formed Consumer Protection Agency. Working with the Ministry of Social Solidarity we revamped the AmCham Foundation to enhance our charitable fund-raising and allocation activities. We collaborated with the Egypt-US Business Council and the AmCham MENA Council to encourage partnerships and build regional solidarity. Last April, we initiated Egypt’s first international gathering of AmCham leaders, hosting representatives from 13 countries including Russia, Morocco, South Africa, Greece and Australia, exploring avenues for interaction.
Since 2007, we’ve increased our DoorKnock and trade missions to America, where our corporate members greatly facilitated access to investors and policymakers. In coordination with our American members, the US Chamber of Commerce and the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), we sponsored events in the US highlighting our ICT, transport, industry and financial sectors, where Egypt’s cabinet members detailed their projects and portfolios for an attentive audience of financial and corporate leaders.
This year, in agreement with Cairo and Ain Shams universities, AmCham set up campus classes to conduct its training programs and provide access to our employment services. This new presence in Egypt’s largest universities offers tens of thousands of men and women the benefit of internationally accredited programs that can equip them with marketable and rewarding skills. By connecting with institutions of higher learning, we begin to address the job market mismatch. Our Career Development Center’s (CDC) recruitment services and employment fair (which attracted 6,000 visitors last year alone) are valuable tools benefiting both job seekers and our enterprises.
AmCham’s Trade-Related Assistance Center (TRAC) awarded its first class of graduates their trade certification in 2008, and the CDC certified 2,800 young professionals in financial management and related fields. To maximize our training outreach, we began offering courses online, and issued certificates to 128 graduates in business, management and information technology.
Like its training programs, AmCham Egypt’s information services have never seen higher demand. Our website, tenders alert service, studies and publications prove that when people want reliable information, they turn to AmCham. Likewise, efforts to build rapport with the Egyptian media have resulted in wider, more accurate coverage of our activities, engendering greater public support and participation. In reaching out to the greater community, at home, regionally and abroad, in these varied ways, AmCham consolidates its strengths, and amplifies its positive impact.
It has been an honor to serve an organization of such vitality, openness and professionalism. I thank Hisham Fahmy, Sylvia Menassa, Mohamed Amin, Dahlia Younis, Amr Mansour, Khaled Sewelam, Salah Saleh and Saad Mahgoub for their discipline and humor, and for giving AmCham the great benefit of their talents. I am grateful to Ambassador Magda Shahin of TRAC for her inspiring efforts, and to all the dedicated staff, board and members with whom I’ve had the pleasure to work. As this Viewpoint goes to press, a new president is about to be elected and I wish him and his team the best. If his experience is anything like mine, he can look forward to two rewarding and unforgettable years with one of Egypt’s most distinguished organizations.
OMAR A. MOHANNA
President, AmCham Egypt
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