Middle East & North Africa

Cairo, Dubai, Istanbul, Tel Aviv

HBS continues its efforts to build a deep understanding of and expertise in global business practice and innovation around the world, including throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The School opened the MENA Research Center in Istanbul in 2013, followed by offices in Dubai and Cairo. Separately an office was opened in Tel Aviv in 2016 reporting to the Europe Research Center. All play an important role in helping HBS develop and strengthen relationships with business and academic leaders in the Middle East, Turkey, North Africa, and Central Asia. Support for faculty research, student programming, Executive Education, and Harvard Business Publishing are enabled by these HBS locations.

Locations

Middle East and North Africa Research Center Istanbul, Turkey

Cairo Office
Cairo, Egypt

Dubai Office
Dubai Design District
Building 3, 3rd Floor, Unit 341
Dubai, UAE

Tel Aviv Office
Tel Aviv, Israel

News & Highlights

MARCH 2023
ALUMNI

Alumni Amal Enan’s (MBA 2014) Investment Impact in Egypt

Amal Enan (MBA 2014) has been making a difference in the Egyptian startup scene with her thoughtful and strategic investments. As Executive Director of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund, Enan works to promote financial inclusion, job creation, and private sector development in Egypt, with a strong focus on supporting female entrepreneurs. She says, “we need to build sustainable businesses and create a competitive track record for the country, if we’re going to improve opportunities for the next generation.” Learn more about the work she is doing in the MENA region through her alumni story here.

NOVEMBER 2022
EVENT

Alumni Events in Istanbul, Riyadh, Cairo, and Dubai with Professor Paul Gompers on his New Book

In October and November, the MENA Research Center hosted alumni events in Istanbul, Riyadh, Cairo, and Dubai in collaboration with HBR Turkey, Harvard Club of Saudi Arabia and Harvard Business School Clubs of Egypt and GCC. Professor Paul Gompers discussed his book, Advanced Introduction to Private Equity, with HBS alumni and allies. The book, which he co-authored with University of Chicago Professor Steven A. Kaplan, can serve as a source of insight for everyone who has an interest in private equity, whether they are academics, students, young professionals or industry veterans. Over 100 alumni and friends of HBS attended.

NOVEMBER 2022
Event

Virtual Book Discussion with Professor Jeremy Friedman

Professor Jeremy Friedman gave his insights from his new book, Ripe for Revolution: Building Socialism in the Third World. The book seeks to tell the story of the global evolution of the socialist project during the Cold War through an iterative process of trial and error. The book explores how socialists sought to build a model of socialism that would fit the conditions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, then referred to as the “Third World,” and now more often called the “Global South.” This event was co-hosted by the Africa Research Center with nearly 50 HBS alumni and community members attending the virtual event.

SEPTEMBER 2022
Event

Virtual Conversation with Professor George Serafeim

The MENA Research Center and Africa Research Center co-hosted a virtual event with Professor George Serafeim. With his new book Purpose and Profit: How Business Can Lift Up the World, Professor Serafeim provided answers to the following questions: Are purpose and profit in conflict, or can both be achieved simultaneously with the right mindset and tools? What are the forces that are reshaping the relationship between the two? What can we all do to strengthen the relationship between purpose and profit as entrepreneurs, managers, employees, consumers, and investors? Approximately 50 HBS alumni and community members attended the event.

New Research on the Region

March 2023
Teaching Material

Hikma Pharmaceuticals Governance Journey

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Jonah Goldberg

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 318108. The case opens with Said Darwazah, chairman and CEO of Hikma Pharmaceuticals, the multinational generics company, anticipating the company’s 2017 AGM and reflecting on changes made over the previous year to address concerns expressed by proxy advisors and some shareholders about Hikma’s reliance on a combined chairman/CEO position, the long tenure of some directors, and the company’s approach to executive pay. The case describes Hikma’s origins as a Jordanian pharma company founded by Darwazah’s father in 1978 and traces the evolution of its governance as a private family company, then as a publicly traded company listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2005, and finally as a member of the FTSE 100, beginning in March 2015. Ahead of the 2017 AGM, Darwazah is confident that shareholders will approve changes made to the company’s executive incentive plan (EIP) and steps taken to accelerate the turnover of long-serving directors, but he wonders how much longer the company will be able to continue with a combined chairman/CEO and, more generally, how to marry the high level of governance expected by shareholders with the entrepreneurial spirit that had driven Hikma’s growth and development.

February 2023
Case

Saudi Arabia: A Vision in Progress

By: Kristin Fabbe, Adel Hamaizia and Tom Quinn

In 2016, when Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced a long-range economic and social transformation plan called Vision 2030, he faced Western skepticism about how the oil-rich and religiously conservative country would accomplish its ambitious goals. In 2022, halfway through the Vision’s timeline, government and private sector leaders needed to take stock. Could they succeed in diversifying the economy away from oil, engineering social change, and elevating Saudi Arabia on the world stage?

February 2023
Case

Doing Business in Istanbul, Turkey

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Namrata Arora and Umut Arslan

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Turkey. It highlights Turkey's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2023 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles faced by businesses operating in the country, such as complexity of doing business, slow legal proceedings and a large informal sector and changing regulatory environment, contrasting these with the efforts undertaken by the government to improve the country's business climate. This is illustrated through the discussion of a business dilemma in which Setur is contemplating its business strategy in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic and changing consumer tastes and preferences.

See more research