Ahmed El Sewedy

Ahmed El Sewedy, President & CEO of Elsewedy Electric S.A.E (EE), talks to TBY about main activities and milestones.

Could you give us an overview of EE’s main activities and some of its major milestones in the past year?

Empowering generations for over 85-plus years now, EE is an integrated energy, infrastructure, and digital solutions provider, distinguished by offering a 360-degree portfolio of sustainable products, services, and solutions, while delivering cutting-edge turnkey projects to customers on fast-track basis. Across Africa, Middle East, and Asia, the company operates in five business lines, including wires, cables, and accessories, electrical products, engineering and construction, digital solutions, along with infrastructure and investments. Thanks to our 32 production facilities and 48-plus international offices, EE successfully exports to over 110 countries worldwide. In 2022, we expanded our portfolio by adding Africa’s first and largest busway production facility that offers epoxy insulation. Additionally, we partnered with Wolong Electric—one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electric motors—to provide top-quality electrical motors that comply with IEC and NEMA standards to meet the needs of the Egyptian market. In 2021, we started to operate regional hubs in both Pakistan and Indonesia to serve not only their respective countries but also neighboring Asian and Middle Eastern markets. These hubs are well-known for providing top-quality products and services such as end-to-end solutions for E&C, power transformers, cast resin transformers design, manufacturing, delivery, installation commissioning, and mobile substations including design, manufacture, delivery, installation, commissioning, and servicing.

To what competitive advantages and strategic decisions do you attribute the company’s success story?

We have long built our track record of success and sustained our profitability based on three key pillars: product quality, namely delivering consistent high-quality products which has ensured customer confidence and encouraged partnerships that ensured repeat orders and referrals; diversification of revenue streams that bolstered liquidity and supports the offsetting of market and operational downside risks; and stability. Established by the esteemed El Sewedy family, EE has been powered by a team of renowned industry professionals who have collectively been working toward steering the business for over 85 years. EE’s management continues to drive effective and successful operations, aligning its interests with those of the group’s while perfectly demonstrating flexibility and agility in the face of changing market dynamics.

What is your approach to innovation?

Innovation is crucial for the company’s long-term success and sustainability. To stay relevant, we must adapt to a rapidly evolving business landscape while creating value for customers and society as a whole. Leadership plays a crucial role in setting the vision, creating an environment that nurtures innovation, and providing the necessary resources. Talent management is key to attracting and retaining diverse and skilled individuals who bring fresh perspectives and ideas. EE’s Group Innovation Unit has been dedicated to staying at the forefront of innovation and bringing the next big thing right to the doorstep of our valued customers. We regularly gather customer feedback to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement, and we invest in emerging technologies that have the potential to disrupt existing markets. Ultimately, we need to challenge the status quo and continuously evolve in response to changing market conditions.

How would you assess the potential of Egypt in becoming soon a significant energy hub?

Despite the recent political happenings taking place globally overshadowing our local economic scene, the energy sector in Egypt is currently taking confident steps toward sustainability. Thanks to COP27, the government, hand in hand with key business players across the nation, is now giving due respect to GHG emissions while offering innovative solutions to carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. Countries worldwide are currently optimizing their potential and assets to diligently achieve the UN’s SDGs, shaping their visions and operations on better preserving the environment. At EE, we truly believe that world markets are widely open to sustainable products and energy-efficient solutions than ever before. The company strives to find ways of delivering clean energy and we aim to minimize our environmental impact through efficient use of materials and resources to reach the announced targets.