Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • March 2022
  • Teaching Note
  • HBS Case Collection

Sawiris Foundation: Elevating Education in Egypt

By: Brian Trelstad and Alpana Thapar
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:11
ShareBar

Abstract

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 322-023. Founded in 2001 by the Sawiris family, one of the wealthiest families in Egypt, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) invested in human capital and provision of basic social services for the most marginalized Egyptians. In 2015, Noura Selim’s (MBA 2013) arrival triggered a series of changes related to the Foundation’s direct-grantmaking efforts, how SFSD evaluated the success of its programs, and the number and nature of partnerships it had with development finance institutions, the private sector, and the government. By June 2021, under Selim’s leadership, SFSD achieved success across several fronts. Selim nevertheless felt that the Foundation still had a long way to go in terms of fulfilling its goal to elevate Egypt’s education system. Comprised predominantly of public schools, the system delivered low quality education, and resulted in poor learning outcomes, which translated into high youth unemployment. She was in the process of crystalizing SFSD’s five-year strategy and wondered how she should balance the allocation of the Foundation’s time and financial resources to drive as much change in the education sector as possible.

Keywords

Sustainable Development; Human Capital; Equality and Inequality; Education; Business Strategy; Social Enterprise; Social Issues; Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; Egypt

Citation

Trelstad, Brian, and Alpana Thapar. "Sawiris Foundation: Elevating Education in Egypt." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 322-061, March 2022.
  • Purchase

About The Author

Brian L. Trelstad

General Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • May 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Upstream USA

    By: Brian Trelstad and Alexis Lefort
    • May 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Social Enterprise in Latin America

    By: Brian L. Trelstad and Karina Souza
    • April 2025
    • Faculty Research

    So You Want to Change the World?: A Personal Reflection on Systems Change

    By: Brian Trelstad
More from the Authors
  • Upstream USA By: Brian Trelstad and Alexis Lefort
  • Social Enterprise in Latin America By: Brian L. Trelstad and Karina Souza
  • So You Want to Change the World?: A Personal Reflection on Systems Change By: Brian Trelstad
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.