Rolls-Royce comes to Cairo 🛞✨

• Rolls-Royce in Egypt 🛞

• How Egyptian brands grow beyond their business model 🧠

• Trump backs Egypt's GERD issues 🇺🇸

• Serial killer's ex-wife regains child custody 👶🏻

• New $100 million industrial land in Ain Sokhna 💰

ROLLS ROYCE | CONSUMERISM | LUXURY RETAIL
ROLLS-ROYCE TO MAKE HISTORIC EGYPT DEBUT THIS YEAR

British luxury automaker Rolls-Royce is finally coming back to Egypt after 121 years, opening a temporary dealership — Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Cairo — in New Cairo’s Fifth Settlement this September.

The temporary showroom will pave the way for a permanent flagship space in early 2026, designed to offer a bespoke, immersive experience.

Why now: Rolls-Royce says Egypt’s growing base of high-net-worth customers and love for craftsmanship make it a strategic market. Customers will have access to the full model range—like the Phantom, Ghost, and Spectre—plus deep personalization options.

A touch of history: The return marks a symbolic revival of Egypt’s historic connection to the brand—King Farouk himself once favored Rolls-Royce vehicles. This legacy, coupled with the rising appetite for luxury experiences, positions Egypt as a natural choice for the automaker’s regional growth strategy.

BREWING GROWTH: HOW VALU CAFÉ SHOWS BRANDS CAN BE OUTSIDE THE BOX

What do The New York Times and a fintech company in Egypt have in common? At first glance, not much. One delivers globally renowned journalism, while the other offers leading financial technology solutions in MENA. But look closer, and you’ll see they’ve both unlocked a powerful truth: growth doesn’t always come from doing more of the same.

Consider this: New York Times readers now spend more time on the company’s gaming app than reading the news. That’s right, games are attracting more users (and possibly more revenue in the future) than traditional news reports. What once seemed like an odd pivot has become central to the NYT’s business.

Closer to home, Egypt’s fintech giant, Valu, is making an unexpected move of its own — not with puzzles, but with pastries and coffee.

Welcome to Valu Café, a stylish café launched by a fintech player at District 5, a high-end mall in New Cairo. At first, it might sound like a curious detour. What does credit financing have to do with cappuccinos?

But dig deeper, and Valu Café reveals itself not as a marketing stunt, but as a bold blueprint for how brands can grow, not just by expanding products, but by expanding purpose.

More than fintech, and more than coffee: What makes this bold idea different is that this isn’t just another Valu physical location. Step into Valu Café and you’ll find more than a showcase fintech’s services or offerings. At the same time, it’s more than just a space for ordering coffee and Panuozzo — it’s a social hub built on growth, community, and connection.

Just by taking a quick skim through the café’s Instagram page, you realize the space constantly holds events and workshops — whether it’s a mentally healing painting workshop, a card game tournament, or a charity-driven cycling marathon. And even when there’s nothing going on, you’ll always find a motivating environment full of fresh minded folks working in the café.

A hub built for the Valu community: What the fintech giant understands and what many brands are beginning to realize is that the future of business isn’t just about scaling users. It’s about creating ecosystems. The most successful companies today aren’t selling isolated products. They’re creating interconnected worlds where every touchpoint adds value.

Apple doesn’t just sell iPhones; it offers a universe of devices, services, and subscriptions that work together seamlessly. Amazon, which recently acquired a stake in Valu, isn’t just an online marketplace; it’s a logistics empire, a streaming service, a cloud provider, and even a grocery store.

Why this matters: By providing its customers a place to sit, connect, and be an integral part of the brand’s identity, Valu is doing something many digital-first companies overlook — it’s turning its userbase into a community.

A new kind of growth story: Valu Café is a testament to how businesses grow by growing outside their mold. This isn’t to say that Valu Café will be the company’s main identity or key source of revenue. But that’s not the point. Just like The New York Times didn’t create a gaming app with crossword puzzles and Wordle just to attract monthly subscriptions, Valu didn’t open a café just to serve coffee.

It’s easy to reduce this move to “fintech meets food,” but that misses the point. Valu Café is a signal. A signal that says: “We’re not just here to sell you something. We’re here to build something with you.”

NILE RIVER | WATER SECURITY | USA | ETHIOPIA
PRESIDENT AL-SISI WELCOMES TRUMP BACKING EGYPT’S NILE WATER RIGHTS AMID GERD DISPUTE

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi welcomed recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who voiced concern over the potential impact of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Egypt’s water security.

Speaking after a meeting at the White House, Trump acknowledged Egypt’s heavy reliance on the Nile, calling the situation “pretty incredible” and suggesting a resolution may be near.

Al-Sisi’s response: In a presidential press release, Egypt’s leader praised Trump’s remarks as a reflection of the US’s commitment to resolving global conflicts and ensuring regional stability. He thanked Trump for recognizing the Nile’s existential importance to Egypt and for backing a fair deal on GERD.

Refresher: Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia have been locked in a decade-long dispute over the dam’s filling and operation. Egypt wants a binding agreement that ensures its water rights are protected. Cairo has repeatedly appealed to the international community to pressure Ethiopia into halting unilateral actions.

CUSTODY CASE | NEW CAIRO SERIAL KILLER | CRIME
EX-WIFE OF EGYPTIAN SERIAL KILLER REGAINS CUSTODY OF CHILD TAKEN BY GRANDMOTHER

Alexandria authorities arrested the mother of Karim Selim — known as the “Tagamoa’ Serial Killer” — to enforce a six-month prison sentence after she repeatedly refused to hand over the killer’s son, Zayn, to his mother, British-Egyptian Lobna Yakout.

Backstory: Yakout, ex-wife of Selim, had received a court ruling granting her full custody of their child, but Selim’s mother defied it, running with the child and prompting legal action. Yakout announced on social media that her son has now been safely returned.

What were the crimes? Convicted earlier this year for multiple murders, Selim — once a social media influencer — was sentenced to death for killing several women and recording disturbing videos before and after the crimes. His case shocked the nation, prompting a highly public investigation and wide social media outrage.

INDUSTRIAL ZONE | AIN SOKHNA | LAND DEVELOPMENT
EGYPT TO DEVELOP $100 MILLION INDUSTRIAL LAND IN AIN SOKHNA

Egypt’s SCZONE signed a USD 100 million (EGP 4.94 billion) agreement with the Main Development Company (MDC) and TEDA Egypt to develop 2.86 square kilometers of land in the Sokhna Industrial Zone.

Bigger footprint: TEDA is nearing completion of its previously allotted 7 square kilometers and now holds nearly 10 square kilometers of industrial land in total — reinforcing its long-term commitment to the zone.

Why it matters: The deal boosts Egypt’s industrial expansion goals and strengthens Sokhna’s position as a regional logistics and manufacturing hub, with over USD 4 billion (EGP 197.6 billion) in Chinese investments secured over the past three years.