Opening keynote address from the 2023 AFAM Conference: Sustainability and Green Management

Allow me to begin by expressing what a great pleasure it is to be with you today at the German University in Cairo as we are gathered to discuss “Sustainability and Green Management,” a subject that is one of the most pressing worldwide priorities, with a special focus on preserving the environment and reducing GHG emissions to mitigate the hazardous impacts of climate change. Although we have made incredible and exponential advancements in all economic sectors, such as transportation, energy, industry, and agriculture; yet, in our hurriedness to adopt such technologies that have undoubtedly made our lives better, we failed to foresee the long-term consequences of such advancements. Now we are paying the price as high-carbon and resource-intensive economic models are warming the planet, which is why we all need to address what we intend to do to change and transform to more sustainable business models that can operate in harmony with nature. In addition, since we are hosted today by one of Egypt’s finest academic establishments, I would like to discuss how the innovation ecosystem can contribute to “Sustainability and Green Management” by enhancing and strengthening the collaboration between industry and academia. First, let us address the challenges in university-industry collaborations, and though I will be approaching this from Egypt’s perspective, I trust you will find many commonalities in the challenges that we all share as African nations. In 2018, Egypt ratified law no. 23 of 2018 on the “Provision of Incentives to Science, Technology and Innovation.” The law aims to support research, innovation and development carried out at small and micro-technology enterprises to raise their competitiveness and encourage young innovators. However, there are still several challenges that hinder Egypt’s innovation ecosystem such as: