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AMCHAM EGYPT ANNIVERSARY
BY REHAB EL-BAKRY
Then & Now: AmCham's first anniversary gala
AmCham Egypt: 25 years of excellence
Since November 1981, AmCham Egypt has worked tirelessly to support Egyptian
companies seeking to do business in the US and American companies interested
in doing business in Egypt. This year, the Chamber celebrates its 25th anniversary.
But rather than rest on its success and reputation, Egypt’s premier business
organization is seeking innovative ways to increase its effectiveness.
It was truly a night to remember. On November 17, the American Chamber of Commerce
in Egypt (AmCham) kicked off its 25th Anniversary celebrations with a gala dinner
at the Cairo Opera House. The black-tie event brought together diplomats, ministers,
government officials and distinguished Chamber members for a memorable evening
of food, music and dancing. International music sensation Bond, flown in especially
for the event, dazzled guests with their modern take on classical music in a
concert performance, which was followed by a dinner in the Opera House gardens
and dancing until the wee hours.
The finely orchestrated gala evening was exactly what one would expect from
a business association that has set the benchmark on how to organize first-class
events. But earning the title of Egypt’s premier business organization
did not come without hard work and dedication. AmCham’s tradition of excellence
goes back to the visionaries who founded the Chamber 25 years ago.
Converting energy into substance
When AmCham was first established in 1981, the Egyptian economy was opening
up and a private sector was emerging, creating new opportunities for commerce.
It was an exciting time, recalls Hisham Fahmy, AmCham’s executive director.
“It was a time of optimism that Egypt had not experienced in years. The
[1973 October] war was over, we’d had several years of Infitah (Open Door
Policy), and the US was rising to become one of our major trade and business
partners. There was more energy during this time than we’d seen in years.”
AmCham’s founding members hoped to capitalize on these positive changes.
In creating the Chamber, they laid the cornerstone for a high-quality business
association to serve members of the Egyptian private sector interested in doing
business in the US with their counterparts in the United States interested in
doing business in Egypt.
The dream of a business association to promote and support Egyptian-US commerce
and investment dates back to the 1950s, but Egypt’s socialist-styled economy
and shifting political alliances kept it from becoming a reality. It would take
almost 30 years for the Chamber to be established.
While some business associations came before it and many came after, AmCham
distinguished itself. “It’s not that we were the first business
association in the country, but we were certainly very different from the rest,”
explains Fahmy. “Everything from the types of services we offered members
to how these services were actually implemented to the Chamber’s constitution,
which set the guidelines on how things were to be conducted – this is
what made AmCham different.”
One of its most innovative ideas was the monthly luncheon, a place where members
of Egypt’s government and business community could meet to discuss topics
of the utmost concern. These gatherings grew so popular that organizers soon
had difficulty finding meeting rooms large enough to host them. “At a
certain point, the monthly luncheons were attended by half the cabinet simply
because we were the only show in town,” says Fahmy. “No one else
offered this type of setting where serious issues impacting the Egyptian economy
could be discussed openly.”
Loula Zaklama, president and managing director of RadaResearch & Public
Relations, would agree. An AmCham member for over 20 years, she has seen the
Chamber grow, and prosper. Zaklama still recalls the early days, when the young
organization and its handful of members labored to consolidate its place in
the business community. “We were maybe two dozen members,” she says,
“but even then, there was an energy about the Chamber and you knew this
was going to be a great organization.”
In those days, she explains, the Chamber focused this energy on seeking ways
to develop trade with the US and improve the overall business environment in
Egypt. To this end, members began to identify the various challenges they faced
and discuss ways of solving them. “Since we were in all types of different
sectors, we decided to set up the committees that were designed to address the
specific needs of each sector,” she says. “This was a brilliant
idea because it gave officials and decisionmakers a clear picture of the situation
on the ground from the perspective of those who are most affected by the decisions
being made.”
The sector-specific committees, where members could gather and discuss business
issues of mutual concern with others working in their sector, were then, as
they are today, an important benefit of membership. AmCham’s 21 committees,
covering everything from industry to corporate governance, provide a forum for
the nation’s decisionmakers to share the process through which a certain
decision is made while hearing both complaints and suggestions from those working
in the sector. “[Committees] allow us to focus our efforts on a variety
of sectors in order to [influence] the policies that affect each specific sector,”
explains Zaklama.
Missions to DC
Since its inception, one of AmCham’s key roles has been as an advocate
for commerce, both on behalf of Egyptian businesses seeking greater access to
US markets and American firms hoping to do business in Egypt. Based in Cairo,
AmCham had access to Egyptian policymakers and a solid understanding of the
Egyptian business environment. Washington, however, was nearly 10,000 kilometers
away. “There was a need for us to actively go there and lobby... in order
to ensure that the voice of the business community was heard,” says Fahmy.
And so the idea of the AmCham DoorKnock was born. The tradition, first begun
in 1984, is a coordinated visit to Washington by a delegation of select AmCham
members, who meet in small groups with members of the US Congress, Senate, think
tanks and business leaders to lobby for and support bilateral trade and investment.
“We were the first to introduce the concept of the DoorKnock in Egypt,”
says Fahmy proudly. “The whole idea was for us to go directly to Washington
and discuss what we, as the private sector, needed and wanted to see happen.
It was very different from any of the other types of missions because we were
neither going with politicians to address politicians, nor were we businessmen
going with government officials on their visits; we were just members of the
business community going there to discuss our own issues directly. It soon became
a tradition.”
It’s a tradition that Zaklama has been part of for nearly two decades.
“The upcoming DoorKnock will be my 20th time to go to Washington,”
she says. “What makes these visits very important is the fact that you
are actively making a difference, and not just for your sector but for the entire
business community.”
She explains that DoorKnock delegates operate as a team representing the entire
Egyptian business community. “We never bring up individual concerns or
sector-specific issues. Instead, we are there to address our concerns as the
private sector.”
The issues may have changed over the years, but the idea of a unified and well-coordinated
private sector lobby has remained constant. The annual mission has kept Egypt
on the radar for nearly 25 years. “When we go to Washington every year,
we are able to meet with some of the most important decisionmakers in order
to discuss all the reforms that are taking place in Egypt’s policies and
economy,” explains AmCham president Taher Helmy. “We go there to
tell the story, especially since we have a great story to tell. It gives us
the chance to have [face-to-face] discussions with policymakers about the reforms,
and the opportunities and the potential in Egypt.”
These DoorKnocks have been highly successful. In recent years, AmCham has also
organized special events and conferences for senior government officials traveling
to the US to promote trade and investment. “Our role evolved from just
going there to meet with [US] officials to facilitating the opportunity for
our own officials to tell our success story directly and field questions,”
explains Helmy. He says this level of coordination and communication came after
years of hard work on the part of AmCham.
He says AmCham’s yearly DoorKnock missions have been instrumental in raising
issues with US officials. “We can do this because we have been persistent
in our pursuit of the issues.”
Persistence is important because success never comes easy. Nor is the economy
always improving. “Over the past 25 years, there have been many ups, and
there have also been many downs,” admits Fahmy. “There have [also]
been times when we didn’t have as good a story [to tell]. But still, we
went every time, always putting forward our perspective on behalf of the business
community.”
AmCham also works closer home, helping the Egyptian business community address
its concerns with the Egyptian government. Over the years, this role has also
grown. “Our role is to work through our committees, conferences and events
to share our perspective on policies with officials and to lobby for our concerns
to be taken into consideration,” says Helmy.
In doing so, the Chamber draws on the experience of its members – the
people affected most by the government’s decisions. And certainly its
opinions carry weight. “The fact that we have been working to improve
the business environment for a quarter century has earned our opinions a certain
degree of credibility among decisionmakers,” says Helmy. “There
have been several proposed laws where AmCham committees have submitted position
papers and many times, the concerns raised were taken into consideration. We
have shared information in the form of papers and research, all of which have
been taken into consideration.”
Zaklama points out that AmCham’s role goes far beyond just lobbying. “What
we actually do is work as a business community to identify the issues or the
challenges that we face and then we begin to propose solutions for these challenges,”
she says. “We have never been a body of people who [simply] whine about
problems; we always take the proactive approach. That’s why I believe
that what we do is a lot more than just lobbying. We actively participate and
are engaged with both sides of the equation.”
It’s all about service
As a business association, AmCham depends on its ability to attract new members
while retaining old ones. According to Marwan El-Sammak, technical and operations
general manager at Worms Alexandria Cargo Services, the mission as well as the
type of services offered by the Chamber are big pull factors for members. Many
members are second-generation members.
El-Sammak recalls regularly attending AmCham events with his father before joining
the Chamber in the early 1990s. “Being a member of an association like
AmCham is very important because it’s through these types of associations
that you get to meet others in the same sector, share common concerns and actively
lobby for them to be addressed,” he says.
AmCham services help facilitate these activities, he says. Luncheons and committee
meetings are particularly useful, because they create a social and communication
network for businesses. The networking is so useful that El-Sammak regularly
makes the trek from his home in Alexandria to attend these events. “If
the event is something that is of concern to you and your business, then it’s
not a problem to make the trip to attend the event. For me, it’s usually
worth it.”
Other organizations may host events, but El-Sammak says it’s the quality
of the events that makes him proud to be a Chamber member. “As a business
association that hosts guest speakers and works to facilitate business growth,
image is very important. This is one of the things that sets AmCham apart from
others,” he says.
Dahlia Younis, head of AmCham’s membership department, believes this satisfaction
is in part due to the effort the Chamber makes to address the individual needs
of its members. “We have always put personalizing the care we provide
our member first, and that’s one of the main reasons why our renewal rate
is higher than the world average [of business organizations],” she says.
“There are many members who have been with the Chamber almost since its
inception. In fact, 12 percent of our member companies and 8 percent of our
individual members are what we call long-standing members, who have been with
the Chamber for over 15 years. I believe that the main reason why we have managed
to keep our members for so long goes back to our ability to personalize our
services.”
Younis has never liked automated mailing lists. Instead, she prefers that everything
AmCham does is geared towards the individual needs of its members. “We
call our members, for instance, when we know that there is a committee meeting
being held that we know they would benefit from. We are always there to greet
our long-standing members at events, but there is also always someone there
to greet our new members, who might not find it very easy to mingle with people
who have known each other through the Chamber for years.”
The Chamber regularly conducts surveys and reviews feedback from members to
develop new services based on their needs. “We always provide them with
the services they want because ultimately we’re here to serve them,”
she says.
There’s no denying the impact that advances in technology over the past
25 years have had on AmCham’s services. “Technology has really changed
the type of services we offer and how we offer them,” says Younis. Evolving
computer technology has allowed the Chamber to introduce new services, improve
existing ones, and put many of its services online.
AmCham was one of the first business organizations in the region to offer online
services. Through the website and Cyberlink, members can access information
about Chamber activities, register and pay for events, and update their company
or individual profiles. “Information technology has truly changed the
types of services we offer the members and even the way in which we offer them,”
says Fahmy. “Information technology is allowing us to know so much more
about our members and this will ultimately allow us to offer them the services
that best meet their individual needs.”
The way forward
AmCham is always looking ahead, seeking new ways to serve its members and the
business community. As the number of activities by the various business associations
in Egypt increases, the Chamber is exploring ways of pooling resources to give
local businesses even more strength on issues of common concern. “Most
members of AmCham are members of other business associations that might be sector
specific for instance,” notes El-Sammak. “Since AmCham has set the
benchmark for all other associations, now it’s very important for the
Chamber to identify common goals with other business associations and work to
establish consistent messages for these issues.”
Fahmy agrees. “Since we agree that part of our role is to lobby on behalf
of our various sectors, then it would only be more effective if we could unify
our lobbying energy with other associations that share similar goals,”
he points out. In recent years, AmCham has co-organized a number of events with
other organizations to host high-profile visitors such as Microsoft founder
Bill Gates and former US president Bill Clinton. In the past year, it has extended
this cooperative effort to include events aimed at promoting trade and investment
opportunities.
Zaklama, meanwhile, suggests AmCham could increase its effectiveness by getting
members to dedicate more time to its causes. “I think that this is one
of the ways that we could make the Chamber more effective,” she says.
“We need to constantly involve more and more people in the activities
of the Chamber in order to always have fresh ideas and new ways of tackling
challenges.”
Undeniably, AmCham owes much to the ideas of its members, who have contributed
greatly to its success over the years. As Helmy sees it, the Chamber’s
strong foundation and distinguished reputation will help its staff and members
to build on this success. “The fact that we have built many traditions
over the past 25 years such as the DoorKnock is very important because now we
are building on a tradition; something that doesn’t come very easily,”
he says.
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