1. Soheir El Sherif - CV
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Curriculum Vitae
Soheir Saad El Sherif
Key Qualifications
Some 35-year experience in the field of economic research and consulting. Extensive
work experience in project evaluation with international, multi-disciplinary consulting
firms; research institutions; bilateral and multilateral development organizations;
government agencies; private businesses; and non-government organizations.
Educational Background
 1989, Ph.D., Industrial Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences,
Cairo University. Thesis on: “Evaluation of Industrial Projects in Developing
Countries, with Reference to Egypt”. The thesis addressed – in a comparatively
analytical framework- the different methodologies of project evaluation, namely, the
methodologies of the World Bank, the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD). The empirical part of the thesis assessed – in a first stage – the
methodologies used for evaluating 20 major projects in different industrial sub-
sectors, and – in a second stage - focused on one major project in the textile sector in
Egypt, providing a model evaluation exercise. The thesis was given the grade of
“Distinction”.
 1981, M.Sc., Industrial Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences,
Cairo University. Thesis on: “Coordination of Industrial Plans in Arab Countries, with
Reference to the Petrochemical Industry”. The thesis analyzed the incentives and
disincentives for integration among the Arab economies, and focused on the
petrochemical industry, as a case for testing the hypothesis involved. It concluded
recommended policy guidelines for fostering the chances for integration. The thesis
was given the grade of “Distinction”.
 1976, Diploma, Economics of the Arab States, Institute of Arab Research and Studies,
League of Arab States. Courses under this 2-year diploma covered the developments,
characteristics, issues and problems of the Arab economies.
 1972, B.Sc., Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences, Cairo
University. Grade: “Very Good”.

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Employment Record
 1998 – Date, CEO, Middle East Advisory Group (MEAG), a joint-stock management
consulting firm, operating in Egypt and the Middle East since 1977.
 1981- 1997, Senior Economist, Middle East Advisory Group (MEAG)/Engineering
Consultants Group (ECG). ECG is a sister consulting firm of MEAG, operating also
Egypt and the Middle East since 1969. The combined expertise of the two firms
covers the fields of: management, institutional development, economic, financial and
multi-disciplinary engineering. Assignments with MEAG/ECG included: market
research and surveys, as well as feasibility studies for projects in the sectors of: oil
and gas, irrigation and agriculture, manufacturing, water and wastewater, power,
airports, finance, tourism, urban development, health-care services and education.
Many projects were funded by bilateral and multilateral donors, including: World
Bank, UNDP, USAID, EU, CIDA (Canada), and Kfw (Germany). The donor-funded
projects were performed in collaboration with well-established international
consulting organizations.
 1980, Economist, Centre d’Etudes et Documentation Economique et Juridique
(C.E.D.E.J), Embassy of France, Cairo. Assumed the responsibility of documenting
and summarizing articles, papers and studies on the Egyptian economic and
legislative issues, as published in the different periodicals and research publications.
 1973 – 1979, Economist, Institute of Arab Research and Studies, League of Arab
States, Cairo. Assignments included: documentation of economic data and
information; participating in research papers on the different issues and aspects of the
economies of Arab countries; and preparing for conferences and seminars held by the
Institute. Participated in some 12 conferences and seminars, and prepared several
papers, under the supervision of prominent professors from different Arab countries.
 1977 – 1997, Intermittent teaching assignments, at the Faculty of Economics and
Political Sciences – Cairo University, and the Faculty of Commerce and Business
Administration – Helwan University, Egypt. Courses taught included:
Macroeconomics and International Trade (both for undergraduates), and Project
Evaluation and Financial Analyses (both for post-graduate students).
 Major Research and Consulting Projects
Macro-Level
 November 2014 – Present, UNIDO-Certified Trainer on Project Appraisal with
Application of COMFAR Software (Computer Model for Feasibility Analysis and
Reporting).
 October 2010 – May 2013, Economic Advisor, USAID-funded Egypt’s
Competitiveness Program (ECP), implemented by Chemonics International. The
project aims at enhancing Egypt’s competitiveness through four(4) major

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components: economic and business regulatory reform, ease of doing business,
entrepreneurship and manpower capacity building, and SMEs access to finance.
 September 2006 – April 2010, Project Manager, Information and Decision Support
Center (IDSC) – the Egyptian Cabinet, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Portal.
The Portal caters to the information and business development needs of all
stakeholders of the SMEs in Egypt, including: policy makers, legislators, research
institutions, service providers and SMEs in all sectors of activity. The portal is
structured on the clustering approach, in order to help each cluster develop its
competitiveness through networking and integration into the larger sectors of activity
and the global economy.
 May 1st – September 30, 2006, Senior Economist, Technical Assistance for Policy
Reform – TAPR II, a project funded by USAID, and implemented by BearingPoint
and Nathan of US. This is a 5-month economic consulting assignment, including:
analysis and reporting on the indicators, strategies and projections of the development
trends of all sectors of the Egyptian economy. These were used as inputs for
roadmaps related to the economic reform agenda, as drawn-up by the Government of
Egypt.
 January 1998 – October 2004, Senior Economist, Technical Assistance for Policy
Reform -TAPR. TAPR was a USAID-funded project, covering a full-fledged range of
economic policy reform in Egypt. Assignments included:
 Study of Customs Reform in Egypt, including assessment of time and cost, and
problems of customs valuation and disputes. Participated in the planning and
supervised the implementation of a customs baseline survey, with the purpose of
benchmarking the elements of time and cost of customs clearance in the different
ports of Egypt. The survey covered a sample of some 300 respondents, classified
into: importers, importers/manufacturers, and customs-clearing agents.
 Monitoring and evaluation of the Government of Egypt’s efforts in the area of
economic legislation reform, covering: capital market law, commercial code, law
of intellectual property rights, mortgage law, customs code, labor law, personal-
and corporate-tax laws, and others. This assignment is being performed through
direct contacts and consultations with the competent government agencies,
USAID officials and short-term US consultants having core specialization in the
field(s) concerned.
 Monitoring and evaluation of the progress made in the field of privatization. Close
contacts are being maintained with the Public Enterprise Office (PEO) of Egypt,
as well as other involved consulting firms, including Carana and
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC).
 Monitoring and evaluation of the ongoing reforms of the services and facilities
provided by the government and quasi-government authorities. These address
such areas as: customs, port services, export and import inspection and
certification, commercial registry and social insurance. Regular and ad hoc
contacts and consultations are being made, and reports are prepared to these

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respects, with the aim of assessing needs, and recommending the appropriate
actions.
 Preparation of research papers on the different issues and problems of the
Egyptian economy, covering such areas as: inflation, exchange rate, budget
deficit, unemployment, balance-of-trade deficit, foreign direct investment,
competitiveness of the Egyptian exports, international best practices in the fields
of banking, finance and welfare services, among others. These are used as
background papers for the policy consultations made by and between the Egyptian
government and USAID.
 Evaluation of the Egyptian Center of Economic Studies (ECES), an Egyptian
economic think tank. The assignment was funded by USAID, and performed jointly
with a team of US consultants – under a contract with Development Associates of
USA (2005).
 National Urban Policy Study - NUPS (1980 –82): A USAID-funded project,
implemented by a joint venture formed by PADCO Inc. of USA and ECG of Egypt.
Participated – with a multidisciplinary team - in the survey, documentation and
analyses of all parameters of the Egyptian economy. Also, translated the project’s
working papers and final report. This was a comprehensive database about the
Egyptian economy, which was considered one-of-a-kind at that time (the pre-Internet
era), and represented a one-stop data reference for local and expatriate researchers and
consultants.
Sector-Level
 Trade
 Evaluation of the Impact of USAID Trade Reform Activities in Egypt (1992 – 2004)
– USAID and Development Associates, a US multidisciplinary consulting
organization (2005).
 Oil and Gas
 Survey and Analysis of the Oil and Gas Sectors in the Middle East – MEAG (1987 –
Date): a monthly survey conducted for 17 years –uninterruptedly - for Japan’s
External Trade Organization (JETRO). The Survey covers all aspects of exploration,
pricing, refining, distribution and events of the oil and gas sectors in Egypt and the
Middle East. The survey is based on numerous sources of data and information, both
at the national and regional levels.
 Agriculture
 Economic and financial evaluation of several pilot projects (hydropower generation,
barrages and protection of river banks) under the River Nile Protection and
Development Project – RNPD (1993-1995). The project was funded by the Canadian
International Development Agency – CIDA, and implemented by a joint venture
formed by SNC of Canada and ECG of Egypt.

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 A Study of the Development Trends of the Agricultural Sector in Egypt (1981):
Conducted in the context of an agricultural development project in Southern Egypt.
The project was sponsored by the World Bank and the Egyptian Ministry of
Agriculture, and implemented by a joint venture formed by Kennedy and Donkin of
UK and ECG of Egypt.
 Manufacturing
 Research on Industrial Development Financing in Egypt – Industry Modernization
Center - IMC (EU/Industry Modernization Program –IMP), 2003.
 Preparation of an Indicative Industrial Plan for Egypt – MEAG (1991-1992). The
project was funded by UNDP, and technical assistance was provided by UNIDO.
Acted as the team leader of the Project. The project concluded a comprehensive
database of the manufacturing sector in Egypt (a 10-year time series of all relevant
parameters, namely, output, employment, wages, productivity, in addition to
input/output tables). The model used concluded different scenarios for growth and
parameters of the plan.
 Survey and Assessment of the Idle Capacities of the Manufacturing Sector (1986).
The survey was sponsored by the Export Development Bank of Egypt (EDBE). It
covered 100 operations in the sectors of: textiles, food processing, chemicals and
metallurgical industries. The purpose of the study was to identify causes of
underutilized capacities in these operations, hence identify possible roles by EDBE
for utilizing these capacities, and promoting exports thereof, as appropriate, based on
their respective competitive advantages.
 Participation in the business planning for manufacturing firms, under the EU-funded
Private Sector Development Program – PSDP (1994 –1997) – MEAG. Also,
designing training courses for enhancing the competitiveness of manufacturing
companies receiving technical assistance under PSDP.
 Tourism
 Participated, within a team, in the study of a tourism development project in the Red
Sea region (1995) – ECG of Egypt. The project was sponsored by the Tourism
Development Agency (TDA), an affiliate of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.
 Water and Wastewater
 Assessment of the Economic Aspects of Alternative Options of Wastewater Disposal
in the Alexandria Region. A USAID-funded project, implemented by CH2Mhill and
Metcalf and Eddie, both of USA, and ECG of Egypt (1980–1984).
 Economic, Financial and Institutional Development Aspects of a Newly-Established
Water Company in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate of Egypt (1987-1992). The project
included assessment of socio-economic aspects and affordability studies, along with a
major training component for the staff of the new company (a private-sector successor
that was handed-over the facility from the state operator). The project was funded by

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the Kfw of Germany, and implemented by a consortium formed by Dorsch Consult of
Germany and ECG/MEAG of Egypt.
 Demographic and Socio-economic Surveys, as well as Financial Analyses related to
the operations and maintenance activities of the Water Company of Fayoum
Governorate, Egypt (1993-1995). The Project was funded by the government of
Netherlands, and implemented by a consortium of DHV and IWACO, both of
Netherlands, together with ECG and MEAG of Egypt.
 Energy
 A prefeasibility study of the Kureimat Power Plant (1985). A study funded by USAID
and implemented by Stone and Webster of USA and ECG of Egypt.
 A series of studies on the Alternative Energy Sources in Egypt (1993-1997) – MEAG.
The studies were conducted for Japan’s External Trade Organization (JETRO). These
studies covered: natural gas, solar, wind, nuclear, and biomass sources. Major
commercial and experimental/pilot projects were studied in each of the respective
fields.
 Transport
 A feasibility study of Terminal 3 Project of Cairo Airport (1993-1994). The study
was part of a comprehensive project for the evaluation, design and preparation of
tender documents. The project’s sponsor was Cairo Airport Authority, and the
consultant was a joint venture formed by NACO of Netherlands and ECG of
Cairo, with a sub-contract for the economic and management studies awarded to
MEAG. All management, commercial and financial aspects of the project were
guided by the international success stories and best practices in the sector, with
particular emphasis on the case of Schipol airport – Amsterdam.
 Health
 Survey of Urban-Health Delivery Services in Egypt (1985). The Survey was
funded by USAID, and implemented by MEAG, under a sub-contract awarded by
John Snow Inc. of USA.
 Education
 Assessment of the demographic aspects, educational needs and quality of
educational services and facilities in two selected regions in Lower and Upper
Egypt (1996). The project was funded by Kfw of Germany, and implemented by a
consortium formed by Dorsch Consult of Germany, and ECG/MEAG of Egypt.
 Cost-Benefit Analysis of Early Childhood Education Enhancement in Egypt – a
joint World Bank and CIDA program (2003/2004). Worked jointly with a team of
consultants mobilized by Al-Fustat Consulting of Egypt.
 Housing and Urban Development

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 Economic and Financial Study of a 3-billion-Egyptian-Pound project for a new
settlement in the peripherals of the Metropolitan area of Greater Cairo (1984-
1985) – ECG/MEAG. The project comprised: a residential zone, an industrial park
(for hi-tech, clean industries), a commercial/office park, and a recreational zone.
A similar study was also conducted for a 170-acre project in the suburbs of Cairo
(1993-1994). The sponsor was a prominent Arab Investment group.
Micro-Level
 Conducted market surveys, prefeasibility and feasibility studies (MEAG/ECG,
1981-1997) for projects of varying scales in the sectors of: agriculture and
livestock, manufacturing (food processing, chemicals, building materials, electric
and mechanical equipment and textiles), tourism, housing and integrated urban
development, hospitality and health-care services. In the same field, led a team of
technical consultants and researchers for the development of 150 profiles of
industrial projects, to be promoted among prospective investors by the Egyptian
General Organization for Industrialization (G.O.F.I). The project (1991-1993) was
funded by UNDP, received technical assistance from UNIDO and implemented by
MEAG.
 User of UNIDO’s COMFAR, a comprehensive project evaluation software, which
brings together the multifaceted scope of project evaluation (financial, economic
and environmental), with hands-on experience supported through training held in
UNIDO’s headquarters in Vienna.
Cross-Cutting Areas
 Human Resources Development
 Worked with MEAG on the design, customization and delivery of numerous training
courses. Courses covered such areas as: project evaluation, financial analysis, career
development, management of change, team-building, coaching skills, and performance
appraisal. Developed a large database of training providers and curricula of hundreds of
courses offered in USA, Europe and the Middle East. Visited, established close
contacts, and initiated endeavors for cooperation with major organizations in the
field, including: the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and
City and Guilds–UK (for vocational training).
 Participated with a specialized team of researchers in the development and
implementation of MEAG’s “Survey of HR Policies and Salary Levels in Egypt”.
In addition to the figures of employees’ compensation, broken-down into their
basic components, the survey covers developments and changes in all company-
level policies and procedures related to human resources. Also, the Survey deals
with changes in the labor law and its executive regulations, as well as the social
security regulations. The Survey sample comprises some 50 corporations and
organizations operating in the sectors of: oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, information
technology, construction, and manufacturing, and community development. It is
being used by some 200 clients in Egypt and the Middle East.
 Inflation

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 Conducted a series of studies on the inflationary trends in the Egyptian economy
(1982-2004) - MEAG. These studies were initiated upon request from many
multinational corporations and international organizations operating in Egypt. The
studies were based on regular surveys of the prices of consumer-basket items,
together with a documentation of all relevant sources of data and information, as
published by local and international organizations. The findings were used by some
200 clients in the context of their salary-adjustment policies.
 Information
 Assigned a major component of the Strategic Planning and Restructuring Project of
the Federation of Egyptian Industries - FEI (1995-1996). The project was funded by
USAID, and implemented by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE),
an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce. This information-specific component
focused on the assessment of the information needs of the manufacturing enterprises.
The assignment resulted in a comprehensive plan for the information services to be
offered by FEI to its members (18,000 public and private enterprises, organized under
14 chambers). Services were identified in terms of: types of data and information,
methods and media of delivery, pricing of services, plans of updating and upgrading,
along with a comprehensive organizational and staffing plan.
 Finance
 Initiated and participated in a periodical (biweekly) publication on the capital market
of Egypt (1993-1995) - MEAG. This was one of the earliest Egyptian publications in
the field of securities markets and trends. Every issue of the publication included an
in-depth analysis of one of the companies registered in the stock exchange, and
actively traded in the market. The publication was used by some 500 subscribers.
Management Competencies
 Planned and supervised works of many research- and consulting-project teams.
Assignments of the supervised teams included: field surveys and personal interviews;
data collection, verification and processing; logistical support; database building; and
reports preparation. Composition of the teams demonstrated a full-fledged range of
calibers, specialties and levels of seniority.
Languages
 Arabic: Mother tongue
 English: Fluent
 French: Very good reading, good writing, and fair speaking
Conferences and Seminars
 Participated in numerous conferences and seminars in the Middle East, Europe and
USA. Coverage of these focused on issues of: economic policy, socio-economic

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development, regulatory frameworks, finance, trade, and human resources
development.
 Organized workshops and seminars related to some of the projects handled. Many of
these addressed issues of institutional- and human resources- development. Others
represented presentations of the progress, findings and recommendations of those
projects.
 Examples of organizations that sponsored the conferences and seminars attended are:
Arab ministries and government agencies; League of Arab States and affiliate
organizations; World Economic Forum (WEF); United Nations, UNDP; UNIDO; EU;
World Bank group; IMF; USAID; US Chamber of Commerce; American Society for
Training and Development (ASTD); International Federation for Training and
Development Organizations (IFTDO); International Society for Performance
Improvement (ISPI); Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES); Faculty of
Economics and Political Sciences – Cairo University; American University in Cairo;
Egyptian Society for Political Economics, Legislation and Statistics; American
Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (Amcham); and Federation of Egyptian Industries
(FEI).