Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is costly, the International Monetary Fund spends $520bn annually to finance sustainability, so the government has to fill the gap to benefit from these aids, said Mohamed Farid Saleh, Chairperson of the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX).
During the second day of the Arab sustainable development week, he talked about achieving sustainable development in the private sector, explaining that “nowadays, it is not enough to only disclose the financial performance of the company, but it must also announce how the institutions are managed.”
Tackling the role of the EGX in the field of sustainable development, he said: “We provide companies with information about the importance of sustainability.”
The shift to set sustainability standards was a challenge. However the EGX managed to set these standards for the companies in Egypt, he added.
According to the EGX Chairperson, in 2010 companies listed on EGX 30 have already applied the criteria of sustainable development. However, only 46% of companies in Egypt have at least one or two positions for women on the board of directors.
Meanwhile, Professor of Marketing and Brand Management at the George Washington University, Salah Hassan, said that “the regional branding is not just a logo, slogan, culture, or event but it is a strategic mission which has three dimensions.”
He explained that the three dimensions include identity, management, and image, adding that “to speak about branding in Egypt is ironic as branding was born in ancient Egypt, ”Egypt is the mother of branding.”
Branding nation is different than branding products. it is about how can we tell our story to the people. Branding countries relating to culture, politics, sports of the people, he justified.
Speaking about branding nations he said that “we have to put two things in mind the brand is inside your country. Which means to localise the branding.”
“Egypt ranks 44 in the world branding, while Japan holds the first rank. It brands the country focusing on one dimension which is creativity,” he asserted.
