As a founding partner and Chairperson, Mona Zulficar overseas the performance and business development of Zulficar and Partners Law Firm, a leading law firm in Egypt. A practicing attorney for more than thirty-five years, she is a specialist in major restructuring, project finance and M&A transactions and has been consistently ranked by international legal directories as the leading and eminent Egyptian lawyer in banking, finance and M & A.
She is particularly recognized for handling ground breaking and precedent transactions. These include the first Egyptian three BOOT Power Plants in 1998 and 2002, the first GSM Telecom Concession to MobiNil in 1998, the first commercial aircraft mortgage financing for EgyptAir in 1989, the first GDR issue and listing on the LSE for CIB in 1996, the first leverage buyout of Helwan Cement Company on behalf of ASEC Cement in 2005, the first subordinated bond issuance for MobiNil in 2005, the first PPP for Orasqualia related to the Cairo Wastewater Project in 2010, the first demerger of Orascom Telecom (OT) in 2012, the first dual listing for Orascom Construction on NASDAQ Dubai and the EGX in March 2015, and more recently in 2016 the first multi billion USD Repo by the Central Bank of Egypt, and in 2017 the first FiT Program for the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) to develop and finance the largest solar park in the world in Benban near Aswan comprising 30 projects for USD 2.2 billion and approximately 1600 MGW.
She handled many large M&A transactions over the years, including the mega transaction of OCI in 2008 relating to the sale of Orascom Building Materials Holding to Lafarge, for approximately USD 13 billion in addtion to USD 2 billion of assumed debt. More recently, in 2015, 2016 and 2017, she handled the sale of Citibank’s retail business to CIB, the acquisition of Pireaus Bank by ABK and the sale of Barclays Bank to AWB.
During the period 1980 to 2009, she was a Partner, a Senior Partner and chaired the Executive Committee of Shalakany Law Office, one of the leading law firms in Egypt.
She has played and continues to play a key role in developing and drafting new economic legislation as adviser, drafting expert or a member of national drafting committees on important laws, such as the Investment Law, the Telecom Law, the Companies and Capital Market Laws and the Banking Law and the Economic Courts Law, as well as the Special Economic Zones Law which she drafted by assignment from the Government. She served as a member of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Egypt and has been directly involved in the institutional and regulatory reform program of the banking sector during the period 2003-2011. Most rececently, she has served as Vice President of the Constitutional Commission of 50 and played a key role in drafting the 2014 Egyptian Constitution.
She has also been the non-executive chairperson of EFG Hermes Holding, SAE since April 2008, as an independent expert board member. Accordingly she chairs the Board of Directors, and the Audit and Risk Committees of the leading investment bank in Egypt and the Arab World, providing financial and investment banking services, and having footprint in 11 countries across four continents with access to emerging and frontier markets.
With a commitment to community activism, she has been an advocate for human rights and women’s rights in Egypt and internationally since 1985. She has led lead several successful campaigns resulting in major legal reforms, including the “New Marriage Contract”, the Equal Right to Divorce Law “Khul”, the Family Courts Law, the amendments to the Nationality Law, the NGO Law and currently the Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Law.
She founded and chairs Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation, focused on economic empowerment of poor women and ranked as one of the best 100 MFI’s by CGAP. She has also been elected Chairperson of the first Egyptian Microfinance Federation since 2015; she also chairs the Women’s Health Improvement Association in Cairo, as well as the EFG Hermes Foundation for Social Development. She has been elected an expert member and Deputy Chairperson of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee from 2008 till September 2013, Chairperson of the World Bank’s External Gender Consultative Group from 2000 to 2006 and served as a member of the National Council for Human Rights in Egypt from 2004 until June 2012. Currently she has been reappointed to the Council as of September 2013. For details of her human rights activities, please refer to the Supplement to her full CV.
Ms. Zulficar obtained her political science and law degrees from Cairo University and Mansoura University and an honorary doctorate degree from the Faculty of Law, University of Zurich. She has also received many local, regional and international awards, including la Legion d’Honneur from the President of France.
- *Founding Partner & Chairperson, Zulficar & Partners Law Firm
- *Chairperson EFG Hermes Holding, SAE (2008 – to date)
- *Chairperson, Egyptian Microfinance Federation (2015 – to date)
- *Expert Member, Board of Directors, Central Bank of Egypt (2003-2011)
- *VP of the Constitutional Committee of 50 of the 2014 Constitution
- *VP & Member, UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee (2008-2013)
- *Member, National Council for Human Rights, Egypt ( Sept.2013 to date)
- *Chairperson, Women’s Health Improvement Association, Cairo
- *Founder and Chairperson, Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation
- *Chairperson, EFG Foundation for Social Development (2006 – to date)
- *Chairperson, External Gender Consultative Group, World Bank, Washington DC (2000 – 2006)
- * Member, National Council for Women (2000 – 2006)
