On the 26th of October, IFC conducted a webinar that discussed and explained the importance of financial management practices and board effectiveness during challenging times, in specific COVID-19 world crisis situations, and how to handle cash flow management and corporate governance.
The webinar is the first in a series of events that IFC is organizing in Egypt and the broader region as part of its efforts to help improve financial management practices. The event was attended by over 20 participants, covering various sectors including fashion & apparel, oil & gas, manufacturing, architecture & design, hospitality services, F&B, marketing & PR, legal services, industrial services, financial services, agriculture, and last but not least health & medical services.
Four main speakers presented during the webinar. From IFC, Wael Kamal, Financial Management Advisory Program Lead, and Yehia El Husseiny, Corporate Governance Project Manager for Egypt and Levant Markets; and from PwC, Gavin Aspden, Regional Director for Professional Development at PwC’s Academy Middle East, and Ali Mehdi, Head of Financial Planning and Analysis at PwC Academy.
“Our immediate focus now is to help Egypt’s private sector and entrepreneurs navigate the challenges brought by COVID-19 pandemic and find ways to recover from its economic and financial impact,” said Walid Labadi, IFC’s country manager for Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. “We have launched a series of in-depth, practical webinars covering topics ranging from the financial management to corporate governance and hope it will help companies prepare for the risks, increase their resilience and support continued innovation.”
“It has been great working with members of IFC to bring to fruition an incredibly insigful and informative webinar for our EO members. Having an institution such as IFC be so welcoming to continuously collaborate with EO, an organization which aims to support its members in growing and accomplishing their full personal and professional potential through shared experience, learning and a varied, yet inclusive life-enhancing network of like minded entrepreneur, is one of the many components behind EO, enabling us to enhance our learning experiences as a group while also growing fruitful relationships with prominent institutions.” Nada Eldib - EO Cairo Chapter Learning Chair
“Strong financial management practices led by effective boards have always been important. However, as organizations seek to emerge from the global health crisis, it is critical to reducing the economic impact on individuals, businesses, public sector organizations, communities, and countries,” said Gavin Aspden.
IFC’s Financial Management Advisory Program is implemented in partnership with the government of the Netherlands, part of the broader MENA private sector development program. IFC’s Corporate Governance Program in MENA is implemented in partnership with Japan’s Ministry of Finance.
And as for EO, Entrepreneurs Organization, we are a high-quality support network of 14,000+ like-minded leaders across 61 countries. EO has been helping entrepreneurs achieve transformational growth since 1987. Our member network is committed to learning and helping each other succeed. Gain access to the world's top experts.
Speakers Bios
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Wael Kamal, Financial Management Advisory Program Lead, IFC: With over 20 years of professional work experience in financial management, accounting, internal control, and ERP implementation, Wael’s main focus is to enhance firms’ financial management competencies and has a strong understanding of complex organizations operating in emerging markets.
● Yehia El Husseiny, Corporate Governance Project Manager for Egypt and Levant Markets, MENA, IFC: With 25 years of professional work experience in private sector development and managing advisory projects catered to the private sector. Yehia conducts in-depth diagnostics and assessments for private sector clients, he provides technical support to regulators in developing effective governance frameworks, and he helps in inaugurating and building the capacities of institutes of directors around the region.
● Gavin Aspden, Regional Director for Professional Development, PwC Academy Middle East: Gavin oversees the development of executive education and IFRS training for Academies in the region and has delivered training programs to over 21,000 students and delegates from over 3,200 organizations around the world during his twenty years as a trainer.
● Ali Mehdi, Head of Financial Planning and Analysis, PwC Academy Middle East: Ali oversees financial planning and analysis products for PwC Academy in the Middle East region. Ali has over eight years of professional experience in designing and delivering corporate consultations and technical training for a wide variety of high-profile clients in the GCC and international markets.
