As we plan for 2027, the guesswork feels blurrier than usual. The fog of war is pushing up oil prices, keeping interest rates high and making capital flows harder to read. Then there’s the rising use of AI.

So is all this a risk to plan around, or a moment Egypt can make the most of?

Forum Playback is back, and the first episode features Karim Awad, group chief executive officer of EFG Holding; Dasha Badrawi, executive vice chairman of Marakez; and Hesham Mahran, chief executive officer of Orange Egypt, in conversation with EnterpriseAM’s editor-in-chief Patrick FitzPatrick.

They start with AI as a priority, and don’t quite agree. They also get into why Gulf money is flowing back to Egypt, why hyperscalers have the country on their radar, and what a roughly 30% jump in spend at Mall of Arabia says about the Egyptian consumer.

Then comes the speed round: where the pound will land by the end of next year, and how big a raise to budget for. 

Their shared bet? If Egypt plays its cards right, a year of war could work in its favour.

Forum Playback is a signature series where we capture conversations hosted as part of our invite-only gatherings, including the annual business forum.

A big thank you to our sponsors this year: Beltone, Orange, Mashreq, HSBC, eFinance Investment Group, Post for Investment, MNT-Halan, and Klivver. 

For additional coverage from the forum, go to: [XXinsert issue linkXX]

To learn how you can advertise with EnterpriseAM, get in touch with Rehaam Romero: rromero@enterprisemea.com