Markets
Consulting companies in Egypt: what to expect from Wills Business
Wills Business is a management consultancy based in Cairo. Owners and executives compare consulting companies in Egypt when a decision is too large to get wrong: a new factory, a second market, a family transition, a cost base that no longer fits the revenue. This page sets out what Egyptian companies bring to us, how we work in Egypt, and what to ask any firm before you hire one, including us.
Thirty minutes. No deck. A senior consultant replies.
What companies in Egypt bring to us
Capital decisions under currency and import cost volatility. The pound has moved sharply against the dollar more than once in recent years, and most capital projects in Egypt depend on imported equipment, imported inputs, or both. A feasibility study priced at one exchange rate can be wrong by the time the loan is drawn. Owners bring us projects where the question is not only whether the demand exists but whether the project still works if the currency and import costs move again. We build the model so those two variables sit on one sheet and the board can see the result under each case before it signs.
Family groups formalising. Many of the largest private companies in Egypt are family groups in their second or third generation. The founder still signs, the siblings run divisions, and the grandchildren are joining. A bank facility, a partner, or a disagreement has turned the informal arrangement into a risk. We are brought in to design governance the family will actually follow: a family constitution, a board with real decision rights, and a succession plan that names people and dates.
Export or Gulf expansion. Egyptian manufacturers and service companies look to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for pricing that the home market cannot give them. The questions are practical. Which market first. Export, distributor, or a local entity. What licensing, at what cost, and how many months before it pays. Our market research and entry work is built for Egyptian companies going into the Gulf, with the Gulf side of the research done on the ground.
Services most requested in Egypt
Services most requested in Egypt
How we work in Egypt
Our office is in Cairo. Most of our Egyptian clients are in Greater Cairo, Alexandria, the industrial zones at 10th of Ramadan and 6th of October, and the New Administrative Capital. We work on site in all of them. Site visits are part of every feasibility and operations engagement. We do not price a factory from a desk.
Deliverables are produced in Arabic, English or both, with the same model behind each version. Financial models are built in Excel with every input on one sheet. Where a study is going to a bank, GAFI or the Industrial Development Authority, we prepare it in the format that institution uses.
Fees are fixed per written scope and invoiced in stages, in Egyptian pounds or US dollars as agreed.
Choosing a consulting company in Egypt
Five questions to ask any firm, including us.
- Who will do the work? Ask for the name of the consultant who will lead the project and whether that person was on the first call. At Wills Business they are the same person.
- Where will the market numbers come from? A study built from a global report divided by population is not a study of Egypt. Ask what primary research the firm will do and who will do it.
- Has the firm delivered to this bank, fund or authority before? Formats differ, and a firm that knows what a specific credit committee asks for saves you a review cycle. [List the institutions once the client confirms them.]
- What happens if the answer is no? A firm paid to make a project look good will make it look good. Ask whether the study can recommend against the project and what happens to the fee if it does. Ours can, and the fee does not change.
- What is in the written scope? Deliverables, timeline, people, fee, and what counts as a change. If there is no written scope, there is nothing to hold the firm to.
Frequently asked questions
How do consulting companies in Egypt charge? Practices vary: hourly, daily, retainer, or fixed fee. We work on a fixed fee per written scope, agreed before we start and invoiced in stages. We do not publish price lists because two engagements with the same title rarely involve the same work.
Do you work with companies outside Cairo? Yes. Alexandria, the Delta, the Canal cities, Upper Egypt and the industrial zones. Site work is scheduled into the scope and travel inside Egypt is included in the fee.
Can you prepare a feasibility study for an Egyptian bank? Yes. We prepare studies to the format of the bank or authority you are applying to, with the financial model in Excel so the credit team can test the assumptions themselves. See feasibility studies.
Are you one of the market research companies in Egypt, or a consultancy? Both, in the sense that matters. We run our own primary research in Egypt because our feasibility and strategy work depends on it. We also take standalone market research engagements.
Do you work in Arabic? Yes. Deliverables, workshops and board presentations are in Arabic, English or both. Family governance work in Egypt is almost always run in Arabic.
Tell us the decision you are facing
Thirty minutes on a call. You describe the decision. We tell you honestly whether it needs outside help, what the work would involve, and what it would cost.
Thirty minutes. No deck. A senior consultant replies.