Egypt's SWOT Analysis

I believe that before embarking on a journey, one should analyze everything carefully from the starting point, the road/journey and the goal. So, here I begin with the first step i.e. the starting point. Being a  marketing professional, I cannot help but borrow from the marketing terminology hence the title "SWOT Analysis". I believe it does not help to hide from the truth, we need to realistically assess our situation in order to position ourselves well to achieve our goal.

Of course I will start with Strength not only because it's the first letter but also because it gives a positive push and appeals to my optimistic nature :) As you may know the elements for strength has to come from within so we need to consider what are Egypt's inherent elements of strength. I have to say at this point that the major element I see is the people or the human factor (not only because we exceed 80 mil. but because at this point in time we are a really motivated 80 mil. thanks to the January 25th spirit). I have to admit that this human factor comes with its inherent weaknesses such as illiteracy and poverty, however, these weaknesses could be remedied and the start should be educational reform (and we will discuss this at length in the coming article about the second step i.e. the journey). Besides the human factor, we also have the natural resources, Egypt may not be an oil country but still it's not a poor country either; its main problem was mismanagement and corruption (again to be discussed in the journey). Our resources, as they have repeatedly mentioned over our school years, include oil, gas besides the Suez canal and our great resort cities as well as the last but not least resource the Pharaonic monuments and artifacts.

As for weaknesses, it seems that I have already covered most of them during my talk about strengths;  apparently I am not the optimist I thought myself to be:) To recap, illiteracy, poverty, mismanagement and corruption are the greatest obstacles I see on the road (I am sure many people can add more to this list but these are the ones I believe pose the greatest threat and are the root for many of the other problems we suffer today).

Opportunities and threats are both external factors. So if we look what's out there at this particular time, we'll find a mixed picture. On one hand, in terms of opportunities, many countries seem to be willing to offer help at this stage financially and otherwise to guarantee achieving democracy in Egypt (if you believe all the rhetoric which I personally have to take with a grain of salt till it materializes into action). On the other hand, in terms of threats, I see two major problems that may make these offers of help vaporize. The first being the state of the world economy which may make a number of countries unable of helping Egypt because they need to consider their own problems first (something which I cannot blame anyone for). The second and more troublesome obstacle is possibility of the rise of politically active Islamists in Egypt to power (not necessarily the top of the political ladder but at least to the point where they have an overreaching effect on all decisions) which most probably may automatically lead to making Egypt a pariah to many countries even though no one cares to discuss this scenario at length at this particular stage.

To wrap it all up, I believe that we may be in a fix right now but we are not doomed to stay in it forever. We are well positioned for a good start if we can make a realistic and well-managed plan for our journey. So for the coming article, I will try and collect many of the plans proposed by experts that build on our strengths and remedy our weaknesses. 

Daring to Dream

I believe that writing about the future of Egypt now is a tricky thing. If I would have started such a blog before the 25th of January, there would not have been much to write about. The Egyptian scene was one of stagnation, it was as if a person has pressed  the "pause button". However, unlike a movie that you have not seen before, everybody knew what was coming after this pause. Repeated denials aside, most Egyptians knew that Gamal was being groomed to take over after his father Mubarak the leadership of Egypt (similar to the Syrian scenario). Some were quite satisfied with this anticipated switch, and they were not only corrupt businessmen but also many of the Egyptian elite who felt that the status quo was not detrimental to their livelihood and ambitions.

But now, after the 25th of January, we are at a virtual crossroad as we Egyptians call it "seket el nadama we seket el salama we seket eli yerou7 ma yerga3sh" or the regret, safety and forever lost crossroads. This is why I started writing. Simply because my hopes, dreams and fears were growing beyond my ability to repress them or limit them to my mind only. I am writing because I want to share my dream or a vision for an Egypt that my kids could take part in the shaping of its future (a right that we were robbed of) and would be proud of (a dream that we kept holding to regardless of the setbacks). So if you pass by or stumble on this blog and believe that you share my dream, feel free to share your ideas for ways to ensure that we all follow "seket el salama" i.e. "safety road" and by safety I definitely don't mean status quo or stagnation (as the previous regime continuosly marketed theirs). Finally, I hope that we can all dare to dream of a better Egypt.