In this special episode of Counterpoints from the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Ahmed Elsewedy, President and CEO of Elsewedy Electric, joins us for an in-depth interview.
Headquartered in Cairo, Elsewedy Electric has grown over three decades from a family-run cable company into one of the world’s leading providers of integrated infrastructure and energy solutions.
Grounded in the forum’s “Scale Imperative” theme, the discussion explores Africa’s economic potential, the energy transition, youth education, and how regional integration can help transform fragmented markets into a globally comp...
What Ahmed Sewedy said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Ahmed Sewedy, CEO of Elsewedy Electric, discussed Africa's energy needs and the company's role in the continent's development. He emphasized that electricity is foundational for jobs and better living, and that infrastructure must be built 100% for everyone. He highlighted the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant in Tanzania, a project over two gigawatts, as a transformative investment for the region, and noted the company's local investments in factories. Sewedy called for clearer regulations and financing from institutions like the IMF and EBRD to enable private sector investment in African infrastructure, and stressed the necessity of cross-border interconnection, citing examples from the Gulf and Europe. He expressed optimism about global electrification trends, and detailed the company's focus on recruiting 1,500 young graduates annually and dedicating 100% of CSR to education. He also mentioned meeting Rwanda's president, who allocates 16% of revenue to education, and highlighted Elsewedy's competitive edge through technology, AI, and customer focus.
Key takeaways
Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant in Tanzania is over two gigawatts and will impact the region for the next 50 years.
Elsewedy Electric recruits over 1,500 young graduates from universities worldwide every year.
100% of Elsewedy Electric's CSR is focused on education in Egypt and all countries where it operates.
Sewedy called for IMF and EBRD to set clear regulations for private sector investment in African infrastructure.
Rwanda's president allocates 16% of national revenue to education, which Sewedy praised.
Numbers and commitments
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What it refers to
Type
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1,500
Young graduates recruited annually by Elsewedy Electric
0:39What did you take out of the opening session and how do you think Elsewedy Electric plays into that call to action?
2:31Do you think you'll see a change in the way energy and energy solutions are partnered throughout Africa?
3:32... this year's forum theme, scale or fail, even though you're talking about smaller projects, do you think there is a need for magnitude, for that sort of scale and that cooperation across the continent if the continent is going to succeed?
5:24Do you think that that is something that could really drive energy transmission forward?
6:56What would you like to see as an immediate change that can spur things along and get that interconnectedness that you think is so vital?
7:34How challenging has it been to grow your global footprint and is that where you see the future direction of Elsewedy Electric?
9:01... and the foundation that you've started bridges the gap between academia and industry and what do you think are some of the biggest hurdles to give young people, young aspiring workers in this region the job opportunities that they need?
11:10And how do you remain competitive against companies in China?
Hello and welcome to this special interview here on Counterpoints with me, Melinda Nusphora, coming to you from the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda. Well, headquartered in Cairo, the Elsewedy Electric Company is an energy solutions leader. In just about three decades, the company has transformed from a family-run cable company into one of the world's leading providers of integrated infrastructure solutions. So I'm pleased to be joining the CEO and president of Elsewedy Electric, Ahmed Sewedy. Thank you for joining us here on Counterpoints.
Day one of the Africa CEO Forum and we've already heard quite a firm call to action. The speakers in the opening session were really championing this idea of Africa's potential but the need to propel the continent forward. They've been highlighting the importance of development and in particular ending things like the exploitative resource extraction deals and the importance of energy transition. What did you take out of the opening session and how do you think Elsewedy Electric plays into that call to action?
Of course, thank you much. I've been several times before in the CEO Forum. I love it. The quality of the people here is really different. The organization is nice and it's only today's of course to be more but really it's very condensed. We of course we are an energy provider and solution provider worldwide but also focusing on Africa. Africa is for us one of the main continents because we are an African country, African company. At the same time the opening of the sessions really was really beautiful, very nice, encouraging more energy. But of course we can do a lot in Africa as we are doing with Africa. They need energy and they need a lot of other things for the next 100 years. But it begins with energy and with electricity because without electricity nothing is there. And we can see in the whole world, everywhere, electricity is number one now for development centers.
It seemed to me though in that opening session that yes, there needs to be interest, yes, there needs to be investment, but it needs to be the right kind of interest and the right kind of investment. Do you think you'll see a change in the way energy and energy solutions are partnered throughout Africa? So it's not just a matter of extracting the energy but it's going to be an infrastructure build here.
Yes. What I'm feeling about that infrastructure, we need 100% infrastructure for electricity for everybody because to have really to have better living for people they must have electricity. Without this they have nothing. If you want to make jobs which is the most important for every one of us to have a nice job, we need the electricity. But we do this, there's a big change happening in the infrastructure and in the electricity worldwide and it will begin from Africa by the way.
The Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant in Tanzania is one of the largest infrastructure undertakings and also something that your company is directly involved in. In terms of this year's forum theme, scale or fail, even though you're talking about smaller projects, do you think there is a need for magnitude, for that sort of scale and that cooperation across the continent if the continent is going to succeed?
Yes, you're right. I was speaking about small power stations and small things. But if a country already has their own infrastructure and the infrastructure is built and they lack big power plants with big energy, there is no way except to put conventional, let's say 1 giga, 2 giga, 3 giga power station or hydropower plant. And really we as a company we love very much to work in things which have big impact on the continents and big impact on countries. And this Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant has huge impact in all Tanzania and the countries around. Especially that the cost of energy should be much less. This is the project for the next 50 years. It's over two gigas which is really a lot. It can give a lot of jobs for a lot of people. It can change the way of education, of health, of industry because even we invested a lot in Tanzania on factories like cables, transformers, other things because now there's energy and there is a lot of potential for improving the infrastructure, improving transmission, distribution.
And if you're talking about distribution, transmission, that is obviously internal in individual countries but do you see the need also for more cross-border cooperation? I mean we've seen the African Continental Free Trade Agreement picking up a bit of traction but would you like to see more integrated, more shared ownership I suppose which is also another theme that we heard from the Rwanda president in the opening address. Do you think that that is something that could really drive energy transmission forward?
I think it's a must. We can see it in the Gulf, the interconnection in the Gulf and they're pushing more and more. We can see the interaction of the Gulf connected with Egypt through the sea. We can see the interconnection all over Europe. So for Africa, it's a must for this to make a big difference. I think it's been so difficult for Africa in the past. For the past and even today, if there is no clear regulations and there's no clear path how we can do this and what is the way for private sector to invest in Africa. Investing in Africa infrastructure is not easy, the project can take three or four years just for approval. So they have, they need a lot but what's on ground is much less.
10 more exchanges in this transcript
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Sewedy, A. (2026, May 20). Ahmed Elsewedy on Africa’s Potential, The Energy Transition, And Youth Education | Africa CEO Forum [Interview transcript]. Al Arabiya English. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/923206/
MLA
Ahmed Sewedy. "Ahmed Elsewedy on Africa’s Potential, The Energy Transition, And Youth Education | Africa CEO Forum." Al Arabiya English, 20 May. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/923206/.
BibTeX
@misc{sewedy2026_923206,
author = {Ahmed Sewedy},
title = {Ahmed Elsewedy on Africa’s Potential, The Energy Transition, And Youth Education | Africa CEO Forum},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Al Arabiya English. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {may},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/923206/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
