CAIRO: Amr El-Abd, the young chairman of the Alexandria-based Entrepreneurs Business Forum, has big plans. Only a year old, EBF is organizing an ambitious nation-wide business plan competition which wraps up in November. The competition, and the organization itself, are the first of their kind in Egypt, and El-Abd is both ambitious and optimistic about their role in the future of the country. "We are the first Egyptian organization to target entrepreneurship and try to spread entrepreneurial knowledge through the rest of society, says El-Abd, who at 27 has already become a successful Alexandria business leader. "In the United States there are business plan competitions, and it's an important idea, he continued. "AUC [American University in Cairo] has one, but only AUC students are eligible to enter. So we wanted to begin a competition at the national level, so people can begin thinking about ideas, studying them, and writing business plans. The contest itself is an opportunity for young people, under the age of 35, to research business ideas and prepare business plans. The plans are submitted to a panel composed of expert faculty of the University of Alexandria as well as prominent businessmen. There were 100 entries this year, and each one is paired with a mentor to teach them about entrepreneurship and to aid them in applying for start-up funds from the Fund for Social Development. Of those initial 100 entries, from fields like technology, industry and agribusiness, 20 semi-finalists were chosen in July. On Sept. 15, another round of competition will select five semi-finalists, who will be ranked during the final round in November. The winner will receive a LE 50,000 start-up grant to help them take active steps in starting their business venture. The competition itself is being funded by a grant from the Canadian International Development Agency, although the prize money will be provided by EBF itself. El-Abd emphasizes that the point of the competition is not to pick one winner from among the many contestants, but to encourage all contestants to learn about business. Even those who do not make it to the final round stand a good chance of receiving start-up capital by virtue of the hard work they put in to writing their business plans, meeting with their mentors, and working with the Fund for Social Development. "Our strategy is not to create one start-up, he explains. "We want to create many success stories to inspire people. We want to make people think of themselves as entrepreneurs. We think that by tying practical, real-life experience to success, people will rush to entrepreneurship. EBF's driving motivation is to encourage the development of an entrepreneurial society in Egypt, and the competition is the center piece of the young organization's efforts to do so. Behind this ambitious effort at cultural change lies a strong desire to improve the economic and social outlook of the country. El-Abd hopes that the creative energy of Egypt's youth, channeled into entrepreneurial projects, can be the engine that propels such a change "Two-thirds of our population is under 30 years old - that's 45 million people. And 24 million of those are under the age of 14, he explains. "Every year 890,000 new job seekers graduate from universities and technical institutes. The private sector absorbs about 300,000 of those new workers, and the public sector can't take anymore. The public sector employs 5.6 million people, making it by far the largest employer in the country. But it cannot provide jobs for the many that need them. The lack of jobs and the abundance of university graduates is a well-known factor that contributes to Egypt's high unemployment rate, which the government places at 10 percent but which many independent analysts claim is closer to 20 or 30 percent. "Take the 10 percent unemployment figure used by the government - that's 2.2 million people unemployed. Those are lost opportunities, and that is just not efficient management of resources, says El-Abd. "But you cannot look at unemployment just as a statistic. People's lives are devastated, and you must think of the personal effects. Think of the social and psychological effects. For El-Abd, these social and cultural effects of Egypt's economic woes are the most dangerous for its future. "To be unemployed and university educated can be personally devastating, after years of hard work in school, he says, "and it can lead to crime, extremism, drugs and social deterioration. According to El-Abd, Egypt's poor economic situation creates a culture in which a "depression takes hold, and innovation is discouraged. "The whole atmosphere here discourages innovation, and is intellectually not stimulating or innovative, says El-Abd. "We have a problem with brain drain. All of the talent is moving to places with a better standard of living, towards financial and intellectual growth, like Dubai or America. People want to be in an environment that will get the best out of them, and which also attracts the best people from around the world. In addition to cultural barriers, entrepreneurs face structural challenges as well, he says. "There is bureaucracy, corruption, red tape. As an entrepreneur, this hurts you because time is money. You have no income before your venture actually starts up, so at this stage it's all spending. "The government view of entrepreneurship is not encouraging, he continues. "Their idea of economic development is to give you five acres in the desert. This is a formula for failure. They are more interested in attracting foreign investment, and they act like domestic entrepreneurs are not important. The government thinks that Egyptians cannot innovate or produce. They underestimate the capabilities of local entrepreneurs. El-Abd hopes that by encouraging entrepreneurship, EBF can help produce a sea change in Egyptian culture. He would like to see innovation and creativity celebrated, and looks at American innovators like Henry Ford and Michael Dell as an example of what Egyptians could achieve with the right attitude. "In Egypt, gravity pushes you down, but in America it pushes you to succeed, he says. "In the United States, there is no stigma attached to failure. If you have a business and it fails, you start another business. In Egypt, failure is a big stigma. If you fail, it is the end. "The U.S. media talks about the entrepreneur all the time, he is a hero, explains El-Abd. "In Egypt, the hero is the government, the Minister. In America people are told 'the sky is the limit.' Here there is much less cultural support. Egyptians want the government to give them a hand-out and take them out of harm's way, but in American people do everything for themselves. EBF hopes that it can promote this do-it-yourself spirit through the Business Idea Award, which will be held annually. In addition, it is planning a seminar series on management skills, a book of case studies focusing on successful Egyptian entrepreneurs and events with powerful multinational firms like PriceWaterhouseCoopers. In 2007, El-Abd says that EBF will launch a start-up advisory center focusing on the emerging IT industry. He wants to encourage Egyptians to invest in call centers. There are also plans for a newsletter or small magazine to further educate Egyptians about the potential of entrepreneurship. "We are hoping for a big cultural change, El-Abd says. "We want to reach a wider audience, to talk to the masses.
