CAIRO: Endeavor’s first international selection panel gathered in Cairo to choose businesses that will benefit from the mentorship and network access offered by the NGO, which supports entrepreneurs.
Endeavor staff from Mexico, Turkey, Jordan and the US, as well as American and Egyptian consultants, gathered to review the profiles of 11 entrepreneurs, seven from Egypt, that hope to become official partners of the NGO.
In pursuit of creating an “ecosystem conducive to entrepreneurship, the event opened Wednesday with a panel to address the role of media in transforming the business environment.
Hisham Kassem, former vice president and CEO of Arabic-language daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, and former chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, explained that until recently, “reporting on business was reporting on government activity under Egyptian socialism, while the state had a monopoly on media production.
He acknowledged that independent newspapers are re-emerging after being “systematically destroyed, and that social online media is one of Egypt’s “fastest growing sectors.
Michael Slackman, Cairo bureau chief for the New York Times, pointed out that conducting and reporting on business does not occur in a vacuum, but within the context of social values, education and the work force.
He identified demographics and economics as the most important aspects of understanding the Egyptian context. Contradicting the alleged dearth of entrepreneurs, he named the founders of Wadi Foods and Mo’men fast food chain, but admitted that the average Egyptian has few entrepreneurial role models.
“I don’t have many young people tell me, ‘My dream is to become -‘ he sighed, adding, “Two unique aspects of Egypt are the strong family structure and the affinity for conformity, naming both as handicaps to successful entrepreneurship.
Both Kassem and Slackman included the stigmatization of failure and the loss of civil rights as punishment for declaration of bankruptcy as strong deterrents to would-be risk-takers.
The producer and host of “From Scratch, an entrepreneurship-focused program on National Public Radio in the US, Jessica Harris, explained that many listeners particularly resonate with the “inspirational stories of failure told by the entrepreneurs she interviews on the show.
Asked by an audience member about how to attract media attention, she laughed, “Start a blog and become your own brand.
Entrepreneurial candidate Ramy Habeeb, of e-publishing and digitization company Al-Kotobarabia confessed, “I’ve never had a problem getting media attention. From English media, that is, recognizing that Arabic-language coverage may be harder to obtain.
Habeeb chuckled at the length of the process required to reach this final selection stage, “It’s certainly an endeavor to join Endeavor.
He clarified that Endeavor’s network of mentors began benefiting his company two years ago, when Rob Reid of RipCam Media, a member of the current selection panel, offered him advice on his young business.
Since then, six interviews and two evaluations with Endeavor have resulted in a 10-page document that clearly outlines his company’s profile and financials, a useful tool to interest potential investors even if Endeavor does not partner with Al-Kotobarabia officially.
“The selection panel will evaluate us on our business model, our financials, our scale-ability, and our capacity to serve as a role model, Habeeb explained. Endeavor’s website lists additional core criteria as “entrepreneurial initiative, business innovation, values and ethics, development impact and fit with Endeavor.
Omar Fathy, of Divine Worx, the company behind the Makany, Burger Joint, and El-Sit Hosneya restaurants, acknowledges that although he learned to take risks based on specific aspects of his childhood and adolescence, most Egyptians do not.
“We put our son in a private school. It’s one of the best, but an education at this level is simply not obtainable for most people. The problem is the Egyptian curriculum. The frustration they add and the load they put on parents and kids is unbelievable, and yet Egyptian graduates are generally unprepared to enter the workforce, leaving employers the burden of providing basic training.
Slackman of the New York Times had quoted a Turkish factory owner with facilities in Egypt and Bangladesh, who ruefully announced that it takes three months to train a Bangladeshi worker, and six to 12 months to train an Egyptian for the same job.
CEO and co-founder of Endeavor Linda Rottenberg later addressed the selection panel about the challenges they may face as they interview the candidates over the following two days.
She warned against a mistaken belief that all the companies, or all their members, necessarily wanted to “take their business to the next level, that sometimes Endeavor would encourage an entrepreneur to try for Endeavor partnership before they understood that Endeavor helps companies grow, achieving a higher profile in order to hire more employees and inspire others to take the risk of running their own company.
She also urged panelists not to reject a company because “they are so successful they don’t need Endeavor, giving the example that one of Endeavor’s businesses in Argentina is now publicly traded on the NASDAQ.
Finally, she advised the panelists to maintain Endeavor’s strict standards, even if it resulted in few acceptances, but did tell them to maintain awareness of the Egyptian context.
Panelist, Endeavor mentor and venture capitalist Matt Harris of Village Ventures in New York, spoke to the challenge of advising entrepreneurs in contexts highly disparate from the United States.
“There are more relevant lessons than irrelevant ones. having a strategy and the right people transcend the legal and financial context of any country.
He continued, “It’s said that B people hire C people, while A people hire A+ people; an insecure entrepreneur will hire people who say yes to them, but the best entrepreneurs hire someone who will challenge them.
“In terms of strategy, many entrepreneurs bite off more than they can chew. It’s our challenge as a mentor to help them focus . without damaging their desire to conquer the world.
