11 Jun 2017

Is it time to Switch towards Collaborative Consumption and Production in Egypt yet?

I told Dr. Claudia Gross that it happened out of nowhere, despite that we discussed it several time, and every single time I thought the ideas of Green Economy are actually “very cute”, but I just could hardly relate to or integrated with my everyday life.

I admired the Green Hippies, but thought the ideas were too soft and impractical.

Until this one moment.

I was a typical entrepreneurs, with enough life and business experience to know the brutality of life face-to-face and understand the need to prioritize our actions towards survival, acquiring opportunities and resources and growing as a result of building an efficient system of consuming these resources to produce valuable outcomes.

I was concluding my journey to write what was then called Egypreneur’s Survival Guide – a book project collecting the know-how and prespective of Egyptian entrepreneurs on how to survive while building and growing a business – I spent almost 2 years meeting entrepreneurs, mentors and even sometimes picking up conversations with random strangers.

I had many questions hanging out of my head and I was very persistent to find fulfilling answers.

After almost all the questions got answered, the ideas syndicated and the stories harmonized; Survival didn’t make any sense to be in the book title.

It ran like an electric pulse through my brain, suddenly, that none of this is really about survival. I ran into the excel sheet where I kept the book structure and re-named different sections. I even updated my facebook cover photo to reflect the new paradigm.

While writing the book, I became a frequent traveller to Al Sorat Farm, where the book project was initially conceived, meeting the fabulous farm owner and discussing the connectedness of the universe, while actually learning more about how the farm works – something most of us – don’t get the chance to witness and think about.

It did make sense to me that we grow companies the same way we grow plants. It did make sense that, yes, nature is brutal and messy sometimes, but it’s also the source of life. It did make sense once we understand the laws of nature and play by its book, we become more grounded, confident and able to endure the brutal and messy seasons while embracing the seasons of growth and prosperity.

I learned about Spiral Dynamics and how individuals and societies alike shift their thinking and attitude towards life and the world.

It got me thinking of when would it be the right time for all of us to shift our thinking and attitude towards the world and each other and what can be done to allow this to happen?

As we get to work with SwitchMed on supporting Green Entrepreneurs to optimize their business models for scale and allocating the necessary finance to grow their businesses. I thought of this as a way to combine my new passion for green enterprises with my experience working with entrepreneurs.

If you work in any of the below sectors, you are invited to apply for the upcoming intake for the SwitchMed coaching and pitching program. (Deadline June 15th)

• Communication for sustainability (ITC & others)
• Organic food and agriculture
• Renewable energy and energy efficiency
• Resource efficiency and sustainable waste management
• Sustainable building and construction
• Sustainable cleaning products and cosmetics
• Sustainable clothing and textile
• Sustainable electrical and electronic equipments
• Sustainable furniture
• Sustainable mobility
• Sustainable tourism

I will be writing a series of articles featuring green entrepreneurs in Egypt, if you have any suggestions, feel free to nominate them to me