Creative Industry Summit Annual Festival 2024: Celebrating 10 Years of Impact with Groundbreaking Announcements, Major Partnerships, and an Unforgettable Edition

The Creative Industry Summit Annual Festival 2024 marked a milestone in the creative economy with a stellar celebration of its 10th anniversary, held on October 21-22 at Cairo Business Park, by its strategic partner Misr Italia Properties, for the third consecutive year. Themed Impact Beyond Years, this year’s festival brought together over 170 speakers and thousands of attendees from across the MENA region and the globe.

The festival addressed critical challenges and opportunities through dynamic panel discussions, keynote speeches, fireside chats, and workshops across industries such as marketing, advertising, fashion, design, visual arts, film, TV, media, technology, Artificial Intelligence, real estate, entertainment, and more—showcasing how creativity is essential in driving transformation and innovation across these sectors.

The festival was also marked by two major announcements that will have a lasting impact on the creative industries in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Mai Salama, Founding Partner of the Creative Industry Summit, and Rayan Altuaymi, CEO of Foaj Group—the festival’s regional partner—announced a partnership to expand their presence in Saudi Arabia. This collaboration will strengthen the creative industries across the region, empowering and offering tailored solutions to the Saudi market all year long.

Unprecedented in the market, the Creative Industry Summit and Misr Italia Properties have revealed plans to join forces and launch co-branded Misr Italia – Creative Industry Summit offices within Misr Italia Properties’ commercial development in the New Administrative Capital, Radical 1. This collaborative endeavor, designed specifically for the creative industry, promises to revolutionize Egypt’s creative economy landscape.

“We are proud to celebrate 10 years of impact,” said Mai Salama, Founding Partner of the Creative Industry Summit. “The Creative Industry Summit has grown beyond expectations, and the partnerships we’ve announced today—including our unprecedented project with Misr Italia Properties in Egypt and the exciting new developments with Foaj Group in Saudi Arabia—are proof of how much more we can achieve together in the years to come.”

Karim El Assal, CEO and Managing Director, Misr Italia Properties affirmed this and added: “I’m thrilled to see how much we’re all learning from one another in such an energetic space filled with strong, positive vibes. Together, we’re not just collaborating; we’re building an environment where creativity thrives, inspiring innovation and fostering connections. That’s what we aspire to achieve in the future with our co-branded concept in Radical-1, a move that stands for elevated standards and allows us to unlock new frontiers in our industries.”

The festival featured a diverse and influential lineup of speakers from across the creative and cultural industries. Notable figures included Ali Ali, Film Director and Cofounder of Good People Films; Amr ElKady, CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Authority; Eman Alosaimi, CEO of Lampaah; Engy Elmaghraby, VP of Marketing at Beyti, an Almarai Subsidiary; Hala Hegazi, Managing Director and Group COO of Nile Radio Productions – Nogoum FM and Nile FM; Hany Saad, CEO and Founder of Hany Saad Innovations; Khaled Tash, CMO of Saudia Group; Lina Fateen, Managing Director of Momentum Egypt; Nelly Mahmoud, CMO, Youth Services & Financial Inclusion at EGBANK; and Bushra Rozza, Actor. Together, alongside numerous others, they brought a wealth of experience and insight to the festival, covering a wide range of topics crucial to the region’s creative economy.

Standout Sessions & Workshops

Throughout the Creative Industry Summit Annual Festival 2024, numerous standout sessions and workshops addressed critical themes across the creative economy. These include “The Business of Creative Impact: Bridging Financial Leadership and Cultural Influence”, which  featured Sarah Moussa, Regional Communications Lead, International Finance Corporation (IFC); Sara Onsi, Founder and Creative Director, Sara Onsi Fashion House, Amy Mowafi, Cofounder and CEO, MO4 Network, and Neamat Khalil – Founding Partner, Creative Industry Summit.

Another standout session was “A New Paradigm for Real Estate: The Intersection of Creativity and Shared Value in Real Estate” featured Ayman Abbas, Chairman, Intro Holding; Karim El Assal, CEO and Managing Director, Misr Italia Properties; Abdallah Sallam, President and CEO, Madinet Masr; and Moushira Adel, Brand Communications Consultant at A Moushigha Experience Consultancy.

In “Cario’s Skyline Rebellion: Designing a Future Beyond Limits”, Amr Helmy, Chairman and Founder, Amr Helmy Designs; Hany Saad, Owner, Hany Saad Innovations; Mohamed Fares, Cofounder, Alchemy Design Studio; Mohamed Khaled El Assal, CEO and Managing Directo, Misr Italia Properties; Raef Fahmy, Founder, Raef Fahmy Architects; and Hisham Mahdy, Design Entrepreneur, Cairo Design Week discussed the city’s bold shift from traditional static structures to dynamic innovative designs.

Furthermore, “From Nile to Hollywood: Voy! Voy! Voy! Egyptian Filmmaking Quest for Oscar Gold” featured an engaging discussion with industry leaders, including Mohamed Hefzy, Screenwriter and Producer, CEO and Founder of Film Clinic and Film Clinic Indie Distribution; Omar Hilal, Film Director, Producer, and Writer; and Mohamed Farrag, Actor. Sherif Nour El Din, a Media Personality at UMC, skillfully moderated the conversation.

The Creative Industry Summit Annual Festival 2024 also featured an array of insightful workshops led by industry experts. These sessions included “Data Made Simple: A Practical Workshop for Beginners” by Mohamed Salem, Executive Director at TAC Universe, and “Light Calligraphy” led by Ruairí O’Brien, CEO of Ruairí O‘Brien Architects and Lighting Designers.

Additionally, Mohamed Abbas, Cofounder and Managing Partner at Matter, guided participants through leveraging AI in creative work in “Brief, Strategy and AI,” while Abdulaziz A. Alobaid, Founder and Chief Designer of FAIIIDA, introduced attendees to the fundamentals of car design in “Introduction to Car Design by FAIIIDA.” These workshops provided hands-on learning opportunities across various creative fields, equipping attendees with practical tools and insights essential to their respective industries.

The Experiential Zone was a hub of excitement, featuring interactive activations by various companies and organizations including Fifth Dimension, Phlog, Big Buzz Network, and Offbeat—while the Peace Cake Live Show and Irtigalia’s Improv Performance energized the crowd with live entertainment.

As the festival came to a close, Neamat Khalil, Co-Founder of the Creative Industry Summit, expressed her optimism for the future, stating: “The success of this year’s festival is just the beginning. We are committed to growing our platform and expanding opportunities for the creative economy across the MENA region and beyond.”

Over the past decade, the Creative Industry Summit has brought together more than 40,000 attendees, over 2,600 speakers, and delivered over 423 days of insightful content. This year’s festival continued that excellence, highlighted by the exclusive announcement from long-time partner Tayarah, one of Egypt’s leading content and advertising agencies, of its new collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s UTURN—the Leading Online Arabic Entertainment Network. Together, they exclusively announced at the festival their aim to empower regional creators and revolutionize content creation across the Arab world. This milestone further emphasizes the Creative Industry Summit’s role as a key enabler and facilitator within the region’s thriving creative economy.