Blog Posts

Stakeholder capitalism can help the Mena region bounce back more resilient than ever

Egypt is one of the Middle East’s most powerful transformation stories.

The magnitude, complexity, and socioeconomic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is only now being fully understood. The ongoing black swan event is, by force, pushing industry leaders to rethink and transform their global supply chain model.

Over the centuries, humans have fundamentally changed the make-up of our planet. Our activities have caused global warming and the destruction of the natural world with farming, mining, and housing driving wildlife out of their natural habitats and into more contact with people. This activity has brought imminent danger to humanity, given that 75% of all emerging infectious diseases come from wildlife.

Life, as most of us know it, has changed. It may not be forever but the shift has been sudden and unexpected, and we are now learning to adapt in the best interest of our families, communities and businesses.

Raising and developing our own talent is vital in an age of 'talentism', writes Mustafa El Rafey, senior vice president of human capital at Majid Al Futthaim Retail.Are you kidding? There’s teeth on the other end!”

The region’s economies are at a crossroads.

Spanning Pakistan to Morocco, MENAP represents 8.5% of the world’s population. But we only generate 3.4% of global GDP, with just two of our companies making it into the Fortune 500. Estimated growth in 2019 amounted to just 1%, and the outlook across the region remains one of low to no growth.

The impact of climate change on our societies has been growing at an alarming rate, resulting in a need to transition nations towards green and low-carbon economies. To address the current environmental challenges, researchers estimate a funding gap of around US$200 billion to US$1,000 billion annually . Much of the investment is needed to cover infrastructure needs. In 2015, it was estimated that an annual gap of US$1 trillion is needed to build regular infrastructure projects. Back then, only 7-13% of infrastructure projects were low-carbon and climate-change resilient (LCR) .

As the world is transformed by seismic developments around technology, climate and the need for more inclusive economic and social systems, there is a real risk that many in the Middle East will miss out on the opportunities these momentous shifts present, given the current geopolitical uncertainty about the region.