A panel of speakers in Cairo's upscale district of Garden City brought together the famed elements of fashion and influential media platforms.
The occasion marked the conclusion of the collaboration between the Arab African International Bank (AAIB) and Maison Pyramid. This collaboration incubated emerging designers and empowered fresh talent and innovative concepts, featuring them at Harvey Nichols in London from 27 May till the end of July.
Maison Pyramid, a global fashion platform and agency, was represented by Maria Sanchez, who talked about the last few years that saw a boom in the fashion industry in regards to international recognition and the collaboration they had with the famed Egyptian brand Okhtein.
Egyptian designs in collaboration with MP at Harvey Nichols
The founders of Okhtein, sisters Ayah and Munaz Abdel-Raouf, highlighted the story of their beginnings a few years ago and the beauty of Egyptian craftsmanship that draws inspirations from Old Cairo to create their iconic bags.
The recent collaboration featured brands on the major platform Harvey Nichols, included Okhtein, straw accessories label Yosuzi, and ready-to-wear firms Nafsika Skourti and Nadya Dzyak, and it was highlighted by Sherif Hassan, head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at AAIB.
"We believe in the role of youth in entrepreneurship and its impact on economic and social development, and that is why we have been focusing on supporting incubators to empower young entrepreneurs to arise and achieve their potential," he said
Hassan noted that all the designers displaying their products in the popup were females, which contributes to women's empowerment, and added that this collaboration with Maison Pyramid promotes six of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which are: gender equality, decent work & economic growth, industry innovation and infrastructure, partnership for the goals, as well as the goal of quality education.
"We believe that entrepreneurship has the potential to act as a catalyst that serves to solve many development challenges including unemployment and poverty through providing employment and economic opportunities for younger people. Accordingly, we commit to continuously empowering them with our resources and expertise to achieve the 2030 agenda," he concluded.
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