Amina Ghanem

Executive Director of the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council (ENCC).

About Me

Amina Ghanem has been appointed in 2012 as Executive Director of the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council (ENCC) – a non for profit policy advocacy group that supports government policies aimed at enhancing Egypt’s competitiveness.
Ghanem has 32 years of long and diverse experience which combines 11 years of civil society service, and more than 22 years of advising on macro and micro-economic policies and strategies in the Egyptian government. As Executive Director, she is mandated to implement ENCC’s mission as a forum for public-private policy dialogues on priority challenges to Egypt’s long term competitiveness and inclusive growth.

Her responsibilities also include exchanging knowledge and good practices, formulating policy recommendations and strategies in partnership with the government, and raising awareness and advocating policies that enhance competitiveness and inclusive growth.
She oversees a team that examines the role of the government and the impact of policy interventions such as regulatory frameworks, labor market policies, and incentives for investment, in many sectors such as tourism, food security, safety, transport, infrastructure, manufacturing and natural resources.
Under her leadership, ENCC received in December 2013 an award of excellence from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for facilitating in cooperation with the UK’s Chatham House, a meeting in Jordan with 22 civil society organizations from the Broader Middle East North Africa Region. She succeeded in building consensus among the participating NGOs on a set of recommendations in economic development and youth employment; women empowerment; and freedom of expression.
As a Founding and Board Member of ENCC, Ghanem has regularly written on fiscal policy challenges to pro-poor growth, and advocated the importance of using fiscal policy to create inclusive and balanced growth. She also helped develop and review ENCC’s vision, mission, and strategic objectives.
Prior to this, Ghanem Deputy Minister of Finance for External Relations – a position she gained due to her result-driven style, leadership attributes, communication skills, and strong analytical background. She headed the Inter-Ministerial Permanent Committee for Fiscal Decentralization (PCFD), and was a key Member in other national decentralization committees. She participated in the preparation of the decentralization draft law, a decentralization strategy and an action plan for PFM reforms.
In 2011/2012, Ghanem headed an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee, supported by development partners, mandated to produce an action plan that promoted employment intensive investments as a tool to create jobs and reduce poverty. During the same period, she headed inter-ministerial discussions that produced an action plan for policies to drive SME job creation.
During her years in the Government, she participated in the annual Article IV Consultations between the Government of Egypt and the IMF, and in drafting the report. She also participated in the negotiations and implementation of three IMF programs for Egypt (1991, 1993, and 1995) and coordinated in the implementation of World Bank’s Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Program (ERSAP) that supported the IMF programs. She also participated in 2011 and 2012 in the negotiations with the IMF for two new programs to support the economy after the January 2011 revolution; both programs eventually did not materialize. During the same year, she led with the Ministry of International Cooperation’s discussions on the World Bank Development Policy Loan that was intended to support the Egypt’s economic reform program with the IMF. In 2011, she introduced the use of social media to the Ministry of Finance to engage with youth on policy issues.
Moreover, Ghanem’s other professional interests include teaching Public Finance at the American (AUC) and the Instituto Estudios Bursátiles (IEB). She also has an extensive network of contacts with donor agencies and international development organizations. From 2012 till 2014, she was the first Egyptian woman to be selected as a Member of the Global Agenda Councils of the World Economic Forum – an intellectual network that sets the direction for global, regional, and industry agendas. She contributed during her term to writing a report on the competitiveness of cities
Ghanem completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Economics from the American University in Cairo (AUC) and the Faculty of Economics and Political Science (FEPS) of Cairo University, respectively. In addition, she completed an M.A. degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from the AUC, and a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language for non-native teachers of English from the Royal Society of Arts in London.

Subscribe Now To Get Our Latest News

Top 50 Women Forum is the first platform in Egypt to work exclusively on empowering women professionals, with the purpose of strengthening their contribution development & decision-making processes.

Top 50 Women Forum is the first platform in Egypt to work exclusively on empowering women professionals, with the purpose of strengthening their contribution development & decision-making processes.

©2024 COPYRIGHTS BY EXLNT COMMUNICATIONS All Rights Reserved.