Breadcrumb
Egypt
The role of CSR
So far Egypt has attached relatively little importance to corporate social responsibility, but this is changing, particularly because of the growing international prominence of CSR; indeed, it is now becoming fashionable in Egypt. Yet not every Egyptian company is showing the necessary consistency and seriousness of purpose in its social responsibilities.
German companies in Egypt are engaged in society because they are familiar with CSR from the initiatives of their headquarters in Germany. NGOs are demanding that companies in Egypt increase their CSR efforts in accordance with international practice. There is very little mention of CSR in the Egyptian media.
Under the PPP program, Germany’s federally-owned Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) works with these companies and associations in developing and transformation countries to achieve development synergies. Their projects are jointly planned, financed and implemented. Companies benefit from GTZ’s contacts, experience and network of experts, while they, in turn, contribute to achieving development-policy goals: They create jobs, introduce technological innovations to countries in the southern and eastern parts of the world, and upgrade production processes. They invest in human beings and the environment, and in so doing also ensure the success of their own businesses.
Public Private Partnerships in Egypt:
• Introducing internationally recognized standards for training welders
• Developing and implementing an ecologically and economically sustainable system of hotel management
• Business intelligence (IT concept) for cotton products, fruits and vegetables
• Support for teaching and learning materials used in vocational education (CBT/WBT systems)
• Enhancing value chains in the textile sector (export-oriented small and medium-sized businesses)
• E-learning for upgrading middle management in carpet production, sales and marketing
A CSR committee of the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC) in Cairo provides a platform for companies from both countries to exchange information and ideas for CSR initiatives/projects. This allows interested companies that lack the capacity to undertake a project on their own to play an active role in CSR efforts by working together with like-minded parties.
Source: German Embassy, Cairo
CSR understanding
Both policymakers and society at large expect companies to run a profitable business and to ensure that their products contribute to the well-being of society.
In Egypt, a clear distinction has traditionally been made between companies’ economic activities and their social responsibilities. A closer link between politics and business is a relatively new phenomenon; since many political officeholders (government, parliament) also hold prominent positions in private enterprise, CSR is receiving greater attention in the political sphere.
Because of Egypt’s recent history, and in particular the country’s socialist period under President Nasser, its people have come to expect a great deal, in terms of social benefits and services, from the state and those in a position of power. Unfortunately, those expectations have often been disappointed, causing many people to turn to fundamentalist groups.
Overall, there is a greater willingness to accept a social divide in Egypt than in Europe, so Egyptian society expects little from companies in terms of CSR. Working against that attitude, however, is the fact that religious Islam requires caring and providing for the poor (so called “Zakat”).
Source: German Embassy, Cairo
Expectations towards companies
The expectations of Egyptian policymakers and society are focused not so much on German companies, but rather on the German state. Unlike Germany, Egypt does not have a social market economy; responsibility for the needs of society lies with the state.
Source: German Embassy, Cairo
Basic conditions
Implementation of international regulations and guidelines
OECD Egypt
Ratification: Not a member
Contact on site:
Egyptian National Contact Point
Ministry of Investment
Office of the Minister
3 Salah Salem Street
Nasr City 11562 Cairo – Egypt
Tel.: +2 02-2405-5626/27
Fax: +2 02-2405-5635
E-mail: encp (at) investment.gov (dot) eg
Industry initiatives
GLOBAL COMPACT NETWORK
Contact on site:
Mr. Walid Nagi
Manager - Corporate Affairs
Mansour Manufacturing & Distribution Group of Companies
E-mail: walid.nagi (at) mansourgroup (dot) com
GC Office Country Coordinator
Mr. Matthias Stausberg
E-mail: stausberg (at) un (dot) org
WORLD BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Network in place since 2001
Contact on site:
Association of Enterprises for Environmental Conservation, AEEC
Hazem Bashat
HSE & SD Adviser
86 Mohie Eldin Abou Ezz St
Dokki 12411
Giza, Egypt
Tel.: 00 202 3 336 7016 / 17
Fax: 00 202 3 392 5728
E-mail: hazem.bashat (at) yahoo (dot) com
Website: www.aeec.com.eg
Areas of activity
Poverty
Basic information
- Life expectancy: Total population: 71.85 years; males: 69.3 years; females: 74.52 years (2008 est.)
- Infant mortality rate: Total: 28.36 deaths/1,000 births; males: 30.06 deaths/1,000 births; females: 26.57 deaths/1,000 births (2008 est.)
- Malnutrition: 4% (2002/2004)
- Access to clean water: 98% (2004)
- Access to sanitary facilities: 70% (2004)
- Human Poverty Index: Ranks 48th of 108 (2007/2008)
- Gini index: 34.4 (2001)
- Population below the poverty line: 20% (2005 est.)
Poverty is a major challenge, particularly in rural areas, where very few major Egyptian or German companies are located. Food shortages are increasingly a problem in the cities as well – a result of rising prices for basic foods, Egypt’s dramatic population growth and alternative uses for farmland.
Participants
Possible participants include organizations for development cooperation (GTZ etc.), chambers of commerce, trade associations, trade unions, ministries (Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) and political foundations (such as the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation).
GTZ in Egypt
http://www.gtz.de/en/weltweit/maghreb-naher-osten/671.htm
CIM Egypt
http://www.cimonline.de/en/worldwide/375.asp
German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Cairo
http://aegypten.ahk.de/index.php?id=82&no_cache=1&L=15
Friedrich Naumann Foundation
http://www.fnst-freiheit.org/webcom/show_article.php/_c-1558/_nr-7/_p-1/i.html (deutsch)
Nahdet Al Mahrousa Association
NGO focusing on youth work
http://www.nahdetmasr.org
Company examples
Kraft Foods Deutschland GmbH
CSR WeltWeit-Fallstudie: Nachhaltiger Kaffeeanbau in Kooperation mit der Rainforest Alliance
Marriott Hotel, Cairo
The Marriott Hotel provides food for the poor in Cairo, an initiative launched at the personal instigation of the company’s German general manager.
Mercedes-Benz Egypt
Mercedes-Benz Egypt is currently establishing a service modeled after an organization in Hamburg called “Hamburger Tafel,” which takes food donated by hotels and distributes it to the poor.
Source: German Embassy, Cairo, and the German Association of Chambers of Industry and Commerce
Education
The Egyptian government has set a goal of improving access to schooling and enhancing the quality of education. Given the country’s dramatic population growth and the steadily increasing demands such growth places on educational institutions, meeting this goal is an enormous challenge for Egypt’s educational policy. The government’s target is to ensure by 2015 that every child in Egypt is able to finish elementary school.
Basic information
- Public spending on education (share of GDP): 4.2% (2006)
- Compulsory school attendance: 6–13 years of age
- Rate of school enrollment: 95% of children who are required to attend school (2004)
- Literacy (definition: those over the age of 15 who can read and write): Total population: 71.4%; males: 83%, females: 59.4% (2005 est.)
- HDI Education Index: Ranks 112th of 177: 0.732 (1 = max., 0 = no education)
At the turn of the millennium, funding for education made up nearly 20 percent of total public spending. The government is attaching particular importance to gender equality in education. By 2004, 94 percent of girls were enrolled in school.
Participants
The German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC) is a helpful contact for German companies interested in becoming involved in education.
Under the Mubarak-Kohl Initiative, the GACIC’s Forum for Training and Education (FORTE) provides training for some 1,500 young people in the trades and industrial production. This project is an important contribution to improving the living conditions of economically disadvantaged population groups, maintaining social tranquility, upgrading worker skills and introducing higher quality standards for products and services.
Company examples
In the course of 14 years of bilateral development cooperation between Egypt and Germany, the introduction of a dual training system at the technical secondary school level has played an important role in reforming vocational training in Egypt (Mubarak-Kohl Initiative, MKI). Important organizations have been established and institutionalized in both the public and the private sector. Support provided within the framework of German development cooperation is currently being phased out (see www.MKI-vetEP.com). The number of trainees in two-track vocational training programs is growing exponentially. The private sector is putting additional corporate structures in place and working with the Ministry of Education to develop new types of jobs.
German companies with branches in Egypt are important partners in the field of vocational training. They are involved in training efforts and offer positions for trainees, although there is no guarantee of employment with the company after training is completed. These companies include Mercedes, BMW, Egyptian German Telecommunication Industries (EGTI), VW, Siemens, Allweiler Pumpen, Thyssen Krupp, Marbach, Rahn & Partner.
Siemens
CSR WeltWeit case study (German): Discovery Box - Experimentierkasten für die Vorschule (Discovery Box for Preschools)
RWE Dea AG
CSR WeltWeit case study (German): Unterstützung sozialer Projekte im Bereich Bildung. Teilprojekt: Renovierung von Klassenräumen
Source: German Embassy, Cairo
Health
The social health insurance scheme is an essential component of Egypt’s preventive healthcare system. It supplements the state’s free, prevention-based healthcare, state-run hospitals and university hospitals in offering comprehensive care to the sick.
Medical care is identified in the constitution as a fundamental right of Egypt’s citizens. Research in Egypt has shown that free healthcare plays a critical role in ameliorating the country’s poverty, and suggests that improving population health is a crucial factor in achieving greater economic growth and enhancing social cohesion.
Participants
Possible participants include organizations for development cooperation (GTZ, CIM, etc.), chambers of commerce, trade associations, trade unions, ministries (Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) and political foundations (such as the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation).
GTZ in Egypt
http://www.gtz.de/en/weltweit/maghreb-naher-osten/671.htm
CIM Egypt
http://www.cimonline.de/en/worldwide/375.asp
German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Cairo
http://aegypten.ahk.de/index.php?id=82&no_cache=1&L=15
Friedrich Naumann Foundation
http://www.fnst-freiheit.org/webcom/show_article.php/_c-1558/_nr-7/_p-1/i.html (deutsch)
Near East Foundation
A foundation dedicated to promoting responsible development in Egypt and the other Arab countries. Its activities focus on the environment, health and youth work.
http://www.neareast.org
National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM)
The primary goal of the council, established in 1989, is to provide support for mothers and children to improve their standard of living.
http://www.oit.org/public/english/employment/gems/eeo/law/egypt/i_nccm.htm
Company examples
BMW Egypt
BMW Egypt (Bavarian Auto Group) is involved in building hospitals.
Siemens
CSR WeltWeit case study (German): Generation 21 - Discovery Box
RWE Dea AG
CSR WeltWeit case study (German): Unterstützung sozialer Projekte im Bereich Bildung. Teilprojekt: Renovierung von Klassenräumen
Source: German Embassy, Cairo, and the German Association of Chambers of Industry and Commerce
Political involvement
German companies are well advised to refrain from involvement in the political arena, as this would be viewed as interference in internal affairs.
Environment
Basic information
- CO2 emissions: 0.5% of total world output (2004)
- CO2 emissions per capita: 2.3 metric tons (2004)
- Energy consumption: 84.49 million kWh (2005)
- Water consumption (households/industry/agriculture): Total: 68.3 km3/year (8%/6%/86%); per capita: 923 m3/year (2000)
- Hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal energy: 1.9% of primary energy consumption (2005)
Participants
Possible participants include organizations for development cooperation (GTZ etc.), chambers of commerce, trade associations, trade unions, ministries (Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) and political foundations (such as the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation).
GTZ in Egypt
http://www.gtz.de/en/weltweit/maghreb-naher-osten/671.htm
CIM Egypt
http://www.cimonline.de/en/worldwide/375.asp
German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Cairo
http://aegypten.ahk.de/index.php?id=82&no_cache=1&L=15
Friedrich Naumann Foundation
http://www.fnst-freiheit.org/webcom/show_article.php/_c-1558/_nr-7/_p-1/i.html (deutsch)
Near East Foundation
A foundation dedicated to promoting responsible development in Egypt and the other Arab countries. Its activities focus on the environment, health and youth work.
http://www.neareast.org
Environmental Protection Fund (EPF)
This organization encourages investment related to the environment with the goal of supporting the government’s environmental and social policy.
http://www.eeaa.gov.eg
Company examples
BAVARIA EGYPT – Waste separation
The engineer Dr. Nader Riad founded Bavaria Egypt S.A.E. in 1972. Today the company is one of the leading manufacturers of fire extinguishers in the Middle East and the market leader in Egypt. It is represented by Bavaria International GmbH in the European region. Since the beginning of 1999, Bavaria Brandschutz Industrie GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered in Waldmünchen, has been a member of the group.
Bavaria Egypt consistently adheres to German environmental standards with respect to production and working conditions. This has implications not only for occupational health and safety, but also for the separation of general and production waste. Other initiatives include providing every employee with a potted plant to care for in the company’s roof garden, a program intended to enhance employee awareness of nature and the environment.
Rahn & Partner, Orasom, AGEG
As part of a PPP project, an ecologically and economically sustainable system of hotel management is being developed and implemented in Egypt (El Gouna Hotel School). This includes devising a resource- and energy-efficient hotel management system, coupled with the establishment of a country-wide training program. Environmental weaknesses are analyzed using model hotels (in El Gouna); based on the resulting findings, practical recommendations for environmentally sound business management are developed, in accordance with Egypt’s specific situation, then implemented in a variety of hotels. Training programs, a handbook and close ties to Egypt’s environmental authority and the Ministry of Tourism make it possible to disseminate these recommendations throughout the country.
Source: German Embassy, Cairo
Data & facts
Further links
- Bertelsmann Transformation Index - Egypt
- BMZ - partner country Egypt
- Corruption Perceptions Index 2008 (CPI)
- Egypt - Anti-Corruption-Information
- German Embassy Cairo
- German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce
- GTZ Egypt
- Human Development Index - Egypt
- KfW countryinformation Egypt
- Länderinformationen Ägypten - Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin
- UNDP Egypt
- Vocational Education, Training and Employment Programme, Mubarak-Kohl-Initiative (MKI-vetEP)