Arab Finance: The Sawiris Foundation for Social Development hosted six Harvard Business School students in Cairo for one week as part of the FIELD Global Capstone program, the foundation said in a press release.

The Sawiris Foundation was among 156 FIELD Global Capstone project partners across 14 cities in 14 countries. More than 900 Harvard Business School students participated in the program globally.

The FIELD Global Capstone course is designed to strengthen students’ ability to operate across different business environments through hands-on experience. Ahead of their visit, the Sawiris Foundation’s capacity-building team worked remotely with the students for several months.

During their stay in Cairo, the students presented ideas to the foundation’s leadership team, conducted field research with beneficiaries across the city, and delivered final recommendations to management at the foundation’s headquarters.

Sawiris Foundation Executive Director Laila Hosny and Deputy Executive Director Mays Abou Hegab attended the final presentation sessions and engaged directly with the students’ proposals.

The program aims to give students practical experience in introducing new products, services, or customer experiences for partner organizations, while developing contextual intelligence and teamwork skills in unfamiliar environments.

The collaboration aligns with the foundation’s broader efforts to support experiential civic learning, promote international knowledge exchange, and strengthen institutional capacities within Egypt’s civil society sector.

It also builds on the foundation’s Capacity Building of Egyptian Non-Governmental Organizations Project, which includes initiatives such as the First Egyptian Civil Society Forum held last April under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

The project also included the establishment of five civic training centers and the training of 2,203 development workers, around 62% of whom were women, to strengthen technical skills and support participation in community development initiatives.

Commenting on this, Laila Hosny, Executive Director of Sawiris Foundation, stated: “This collaboration reflects Sawiris Foundation’s strong belief in the importance of investing in human capital and strengthening the capacities of civil society organizations, as both are essential pillars for achieving sustainable development and maximizing long-term development impact.”

“We are extremely grateful to the Sawiris Foundation and all the FIELD Global Capstone Project Partner organizations for all they do on behalf of our students,” said Professor Joe Fuller, Faculty Chair for the FIELD Global Capstone. “The students benefit immeasurably from this experience, and we hope the partner organizations do as well.”