Interview with Informa CEO Stephen Carter on expanding its regional hub in Egypt and future plans for growth

With the marking of its 10th anniversary in Egypt, Informa PLC, a leading international events, digital services and academic research company, inaugurated its new office at CFC Business Park in Cairo. 

 

On this occasion, we had an insightful talk with Lord Stephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive of Informa PLC, where he shares with us more about the company’s businesses, its strong presence in Egypt, and future expansion plans to support Egyptian businesses.

I’d start by saying that the clue is in the name Informa. We’re an information company operating three lines of business. We have a scholarly and academic publishing and research business and are the largest humanities and social science publisher globally. In Egypt, we have a sizeable presence and partner with the Egyptian Knowledge Bank to serve local researchers. 

 

Our second and biggest business is operating some of the largest exhibitions and trade show brands in the world. We deliver 600 of the largest exhibitions, among which, 9 major exhibitions are held annually in Egypt including Cityscape, Egypt’s largest real estate exhibition, Pharmaconex in pharmaceuticals, Fi Africa & ProPak MENA in food manufacturing, and Sahara in agriculture. 

 

In the region, we also deliver Arab Health, the Middle East’s leading healthcare exhibition which takes place in Dubai, and LEAP, the renowned future technology exhibition, in Riyadh. Of the shows and exhibitions around the world you might have heard of, Informa operates the Monaco Yacht Show, the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, World of Concrete - which is the construction industry’s largest and most prominent event – and Cosmoprof, a global beauty exhibition connecting professionals from the industry. 

 

We also have a lot of expertise in capturing first party data and delivering digital services based on that data, which is our third business. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange but the UK business is probably around 6% of the company. We’ve got big businesses in China and Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan. Our biggest business is in America or The Americas, which provides around 60% of the company's business. So, we are more of an international company with a strong presence in several countries, in addition to the MENA region. And now, we are here in Egypt for the opening of our new regional office.  

 

• Why have you chosen Egypt as a location for the regional office?

Egypt is at the very heart of a group of fast growing economies, and we have been steadily expanding our presence in Cairo, in line with the government’s focus on the state’s economic growth. We have been delivering exhibitions that help Egyptian businesses to grow and trade here in Egypt for over a decade. Now, we have a brand new, dedicated office and a growing permanent team of around 100 people, and the timing is ideal given how significantly Egypt has invested in the capacity of its exhibition centre, as well as hotels and airport capacity, which are all essential factors to support the smooth flow of exhibitors and audiences in the events business. 

 

Our Taylor & Francis publishing business has been in Egypt for a long time now. Egypt is at the very center of education in this region, with a highly educated population and a lot of well-established institutions, which is why our scholarly publishing business is thriving here. 

• What role will your Egypt office play, both regionally and globally, and what services will it provide the market?

There are two sides to this I think: serving the domestic Egyptian market, and, our Egypt team being an expert dedicated service center for our businesses elsewhere. 

 

Domestically, Egypt’s economy and its industries are thriving, and notably, its strategic, accessible location makes it a welcoming place for investors and business tourism alike. 

 

I believe we can easily double the size of our domestic business here over the next three to four years. I also believe that our shared service center here could become larger too and really grow in scale and capability. 

 

• What are the future expansion plans here in Egypt?

We have a sizeable portfolio of major event brands across different industries: from commercial, real estate, and construction to medical, pharma, biotech, and luxury. There’s lots of opportunity to align the type of events we deliver with Egypt’s industrial strategy. Personally, I’m very much looking forward to the next decade of growth in Egypt and to further expanding and investing in our talented team of professionals in Cairo.