By Karim El Sayed The cleanest assumption an international company can make about Egypt is also the most expensive one to get wrong: we have no entity there, so Egyptian law does not reach us. It is not true of the Personal Data Protection Law. If your company processes the personal data of people located [...]
Most international companies operating in Egypt believe they have never transferred personal data abroad. They are wrong. And the mistake carries criminal liability. If your company stores employee or customer data on Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, AWS, Azure, or an HR platform like Workday or SAP SuccessFactors — and those servers sit outside Egypt — [...]
Foreign companies entering Egypt—whether from the GCC, Europe, Africa, or Asia—quickly discover that the Egyptian compliance system is detailed, structured, and highly procedural. Unlike jurisdictions that offer flexible or light regulatory burdens, Egypt requires companies to follow strict annual, quarterly, and transactional requirements to remain compliant. This concerns many foreign headquarters, who often ask: “What [...]
Many international companies begin their journey in Egypt with a Representative Office (Rep Office). It is the safest model for early market exploration—ideal for feasibility studies, meeting potential clients, and building relationships. But inevitably, the opportunity becomes real. You need to sell, invoice, and execute. At this stage, the Rep Office is no longer an [...]
One of the most common—and often unexpected—challenges that foreign companies face when doing business in Egypt is the late-payment culture. Whether you sell machinery, technology, or services, a delayed payment can quickly escalate into a financial crisis. A typical foreign principal often asks us: "Can we legally recover this if we don't have a stamped [...]
