Sawiris Foundation: Elevating Education in Egypt

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.