Egypt has potential for great societal change in the business sector with the help of entrepreneurs and the private sector, Ambassador of Sweden to Egypt Charlotta Sparre said. During the Swedish Egyptian Entrepreneurship Forum, hosted by the Swedish Embassy on Sunday, Sparre highlighted in her opening speech the importance of sharing information to allow small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to grow. Heba Gamal, Managing Director of startups incubator Endeavor Egypt, listed the challenges entrepreneurs face in Egypt, most prominently the bureaucracy facing establishing companies. She said this factor gives Egyptian entrepreneurs an opportunity to expand in emerging markets as "Egyptian entrepreneurs understand bureaucracy and corruption well". Sohrab Fadai, an entrepreneur and representative of the Swedish Association of Business Owners and SMEs, reviewed success stories of SMEs in Sweden and their journey from an idea to become well-established businesses. Speaking about Egypt, Fadai said if the infrastructure sector in Egypt is boosted, with backing from huge investors, the country will see a wide range of growing opportunities in the online retail sector. Former dean of the School of Business at the American University in Cairo (AUC) Sherif Kamel stressed the need to connect entrepreneurs with businessmen to share experience and knowledge.
