Cairo for Investment and Real Estate Development, which builds and runs schools, said it expects revenues to hit LE 100 million ($17.50 million) in 2010 as it expands in the growing sector.
Chairman Hassan El-Kalla said at a Reuters Middle East Investment Summit in Cairo that 2011 revenues were expected to reach LE 150 million.
Education is attracting interest from private equity and other firms operating in Egypt, where many executives complain the state system is not providing enough graduates with the right skills for a growing economy.
Egypt’s economic growth was 5.1 percent in 2009/10 and the government expects the economy to grow by at least 6 percent this financial year, but analysts say overhauling the education system is needed to help ensure the run of growth continues.
"Education needs a real revolution to achieve change, starting with the teacher," Kalla said.
The firm has 17 schools, and Kalla said it aimed to have 20 by the end of 2011 and 25 by the end of 2012. But he said there were challenges facing private sector firms, like his, such as the rising cost of land for setting up schools.
The company reported consolidated operating revenues of LE 53 million in the first half of 2010, up 29 percent on the same period a year earlier. Net profit for the six-month period was LE 5.7 million.
The firm’s schools include institutions in Cairo and on the Red Sea coast. It is planning schools in Minya and Assiut south of the capital and Alexandria on the north Mediterranean coast.
