Business leaders gather in Cairo to advance climate action and sustainable growth

Africa Business Leaders Coalition round table is part of a CEO-led initiative emanating from the UN Global Compact Africa Strategy

CAIRO, Egypt, 25 July 2022 – Business leaders from across Egypt gathered in Cairo today as part of the UN Global Compact Africa Business Leaders Coalition to discuss how to advance Africa’s sustainable growth, prosperity and development. 

The Africa Business Leaders Coalition is a CEO-led initiative emanating from the UN Global Compact Africa Strategy 2021–2023 and is committed to bringing measurable impact to the continent’s most pressing issues. It works closely with the UN Global Compact Hub in Abuja and 10 Global Compact Local Networks operating across Africa. Members of the ABLC commit to upholding the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and becoming a UN Global Compact participant within six months of joining. 

Ahead of COP27 to be held in Egypt in November 2022, the ABLC will focus its efforts on sustainable development and ambitious climate action by bringing the perspectives of dozens of leading African CEOs and Board Chairs into the global conversation. 

During today’s roundtable in Egypt, participants discussed possible content for the ABLC Climate Statement to be presented at COP27. Discussions revolved around opportunities and challenges related to climate action and the role of each player in the ecosystem. ABLC members will be invited to sign the statement with credible climate commitments and actions.

The Global Compact Local Network Egypt, relaunched this year, has committed to mobilizing all the necessary resources to serve the Coalition's goals.

Business leaders participating in the roundtable included:
- Amir Barsoum, CEO and Co-Founder, Vezeeta
- Yasmine Khamis, Chair, Oriental Weavers
- Amr Allam, CEO, Hassan Allam Holding
- Ahmed Zahran, CEO and Co-Founder, KarmSolar
- Ghada Hammouda, Group Chief Sustainability & Marketing Officer, Qalaa Holdings
- Yaseen Abdel-Ghaffar, Founder and Managing Director, Solarize Egypt
- Suzanne Hamdy, Senior General Manager, Banque Misr
- Nancy Fahmy, Head of Sustainability, Integrated Diagnostics Holding
- Hend El Sherbini, CEO, Integrated Diagnostics Holding
- Tarek El Gamal, Chair, Redcon Constructions
- Fatma El Ghouly, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Banque Misr
- Alaa Arafa, Vice Chair and Managing Director, Arafa Holdings
- Dalia Abdel Kader, Chief Sustainability Officer, Commercial International Bank S.A.
- Mohammed Hussein, Strategic Planning & Corporate Communication Manager, Redcon Constructions
- Mohamed El Etreiby, Chair, CEO Banque Misr
- Ayman Ismail, Chairman, Global Compact Network Egypt
- Walaa El-Husseiny, Executive Director, Global Compact Network Egypt

Notes to Editors

About the United Nations Global Compact

As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 15,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and 69 Local Networks, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative — one Global Compact uniting business for a better world. 

For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at unglobalcompact.org.

Contact

Olajobi Makinwa, Chief Intergovernmental Relations & Africa, ablc@unglobalcompact.org
media@unglobacompact.org