Mohamed Elsherif, CEO of the Pyramids International Group.
What is the business volume of the Pyramids Group?
The Pyramids Group, founded in Cairo in 1993, is one of the leading organizers of trade shows in the Middle East and African markets. Each year, approximately 100 trade shows are organized by the Pyramids Group, attracting over 20,000 exhibitors and 1 million visitors from various sectors, including construction, energy, textile fashion, interior textiles, furniture, decoration, leather, shoes, automotive, healthcare, medical equipment, food, agriculture, technology, plastics, packaging, paper, stone, and machinery.
In Egypt, an average of 25 exhibitions are organized, ten of which are in fashion, ready-to-wear, and textiles, such as the « Cairo Fashion & Tex » exhibition, which concludes its 75th edition this week at the Convention Centre in Nasr City. It is worth noting that the Pyramids Group has organised successful trade exhibitions in over 22 sectors, equipped with an experienced team since 1993.
The Pyramids Group opened its office in Istanbul in 2003 while operating and organizing exhibitions in 20 countries in collaboration with 70 business partners. By becoming a member of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry in 2012, the Pyramids Group now has offices in seven countries: Istanbul, Cairo, Casablanca, Baghdad, Erbil, Basra, and Algiers, staffing over 300 employees.
What is the company's development plan?
Our development plan is focused on expanding our work into new markets. In fact, we exist in 20 countries besides Egypt, including, among others, Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Russia, the Netherlands, and Pakistan. We also aim to conquer new fields such as technology and IT exhibitions. We will also hold a conference and a global exhibition for exhibition organizers next April in cooperation with the Egyptian Exhibition Authority and the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry.
What about the « Cairo Fashion & Tex » exhibition you have just organized in Egypt?
This exhibition is one of the largest in the world specializing in the textile and ready-to-wear fashion industry. More than 550 exhibitors are participating in this exhibition, of which over 60 percent are foreigners from 18 countries. We look upon the ready-to-wear and textile industry in Egypt as promising. We aspire to encourage Egyptian clothing exports, whose quality is recognized worldwide. We expect export agreements to inject revenues up to $20 to $30 million. The next edition of this exhibition will be held next February at the same location.
What are the challenges facing this industry in Egypt?
In Egypt, the textile and ready-to-wear industry lacks modern technology that ensures high quality. In this regard, we are working on organizing an exhibition next December for ultra-modern machines used in the industry in cooperation with the Turkish organization « Tusiad ».
Additionally, the Pyramids Group owns a company for film production, tell us about it.
The Pyramids Film Production Company has produced over 100 Arab, Turkish, and international films and series. We made a film in cooperation with Russia called « Matryoshka ». We have for several years produced international films for big stars such as Jackie Chan and Van Damme, Yoçland Neil, and Jurkan Algon. The film Mako, inspired by the story of the « Salem Express », the ferry which sank off the Red Sea in 1998 with hundreds of Egyptian passengers on board, also belongs to the Pyramids Production Company. Starting next month, we will begin producing several films in Egypt that will be a great surprise for the public in terms of the story and the stars involved.
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