Let me tell you about my cousin Ahmed. He runs a tiny spice shop in Kuwait City, and last month, he texted me: “Bro, I just hired two more employees. Business is wild right now.” Meanwhile, here I was in Cairo, staring at my café’s February sales report, shocked that we’d somehow pulled off a 15% revenue jump despite inflation biting everyone’s budgets. Turns out, we weren’t alone.
February’s PMI reports just dropped, and guess what? Kuwait and Egypt’s non-oil sectors are still growing—Kuwait hit a PMI of 54.2 (anything above 50 = growth), and Egypt clawed its way to 47.1 (up from 45.5 in January). But here’s what those numbers don’t tell you: how businesses like ours are surviving… and even thriving. Let me pull back the curtain.
1.“We Stopped Waiting for the Economy to ‘Fix Itself’”
Last year, my café almost folded. Rising sugar prices? Check. Tourist numbers down? Check. But instead of praying for a miracle, I started hosting “Remote Worker Thursdays” with free Wi-Fi and bottomless Egyptian coffee. By February, Thursdays were our busiest day.
In Kuwait, Ahmed ditched his dusty storefront and went full-throttle on Instagram Reels showing how to blend baharat spice mixes. Sales tripled. “People don’t want to just buy spices anymore,” he told me. “They want the story.”
What the PMI Missed:
Kuwait’s hustle: Private sector output grew at the fastest rate since September 2023. Why? SMEs like Ahmed’s pivoted to digital.
Egypt’s grit: Even with currency pressures, new orders inched up. How? Businesses stopped relying on imports and sourced locally. My café now uses Egyptian-made porcelain cups instead of Italian ones.
2.“The Government Didn’t Save Us—We Saved Ourselves”
Headlines love to credit “government reforms” for economic wins. But let’s be real: when your electricity bill doubles, you don’t have time to wait for policy changes.
In Egypt, I joined a WhatsApp group with 200 other restaurant owners. We bulk-buy lentils and rice to slash costs. In Kuwait, Ahmed partnered with a delivery app that took 12% commission instead of the usual 30%. “You negotiate or you die,” he said.
Behind the PMI Numbers:
Egypt’s private sector: Output prices rose at the slowest rate in 3 years because businesses like mine absorbed costs creatively. (Pro tip: Offer a “loyalty flatbread”—free meal after 10 purchases.)
Kuwait’s secret weapon: Construction and financial services boomed. My friend Noor launched a fintech app for freelancers—users doubled in February.
3.“Inflation? We Turned It Into a Marketing Strategy”
When Egypt’s inflation hit 35% last year, I almost gave up. Then I noticed something: customers were angry about prices, not at me. So I slapped a sign on my café door: “Yes, our prices went up. Here’s why: [Photo of our milk supplier’s invoice].” Sales dipped for a week—then loyalty skyrocketed.
In Kuwait, Ahmed launched a “Inflation Survival Kit”: pre-mixed spices for budget-friendly meals. It’s now his bestseller.
How This Played in the PMI:
Consumer spending stayed resilient: Kuwait’s PMI noted higher input costs, but demand didn’t collapse. Why? Transparency.
Egypt’s “value-first” shift: 60% of my February customers bought the cheaper “fava bean breakfast” instead of eggs. I made less per plate but kept volume high.
4.“We Hired Humans—Not Robots”
Wait, isn’t this about non-oil growth? Yes, but here’s the kicker: PMI surveys measure employment too. Kuwait’s job creation hit a 4-month high. Egypt’s? Still struggling, but my café hired two students part-time.
Why? Because when you’re forced to innovate, you need fresh minds. Ahmed hired a TikTok-savvy teen to run his social media. I brought in a barista who suggested selling “Egyptian latte art” (think: tiny pyramids in foam).
The Data Backs This Up:
Kuwait’s employment growth = more disposable income circulating locally.
Egypt’s weaker job numbers? Blame it on big corporations hesitating. Small businesses like mine are doing the heavy lifting.
5.“We Ignored the ‘Doom Scroll’ and Focused on Our Block”
Every economist in February was screaming about Egypt’s currency crisis or Kuwait’s oil cuts. But Ahmed and I? We tuned it out.
“I don’t care if GDP is up or down,” he said. “I care if Mrs. Al-Fares keeps buying my za’atar blend every week.” So I doubled down on my neighborhood: hosted a poetry night, bartered with the bakery next door for discounted croissants, and let regulars run tabs.
The PMI’s Hidden Lesson:
Kuwait’s growth drivers: Domestic demand. Tourists aren’t fueling this—locals are.
Egypt’s slow climb: New export orders fell, but guess what? My café now ships coffee blends to Egyptians abroad. We created our own export market.
What’s Next? Here’s My March Game Plan (Steal These Ideas!)
Turn Weaknesses into Stories: My café’s “Why Our Prices Went Up” campaign is going viral. Next: a YouTube series on surviving inflation as a small biz.
Barter Like It’s 1920: Traded free coffee with a local printer for flyers. Net cost: $0.
Collaborate, Don’t Compete: Partnering with a Kuwaiti date syrup brand to launch a “Cairo-Kuwait Breakfast Box.”
Final Takeaway
Those PMI numbers? They’re not about governments or oil. They’re about us—the shop owners, the baristas, the spice blenders—refusing to quit. February wasn’t perfect. Egypt’s still in “contraction” territory (under 50), but we’re fighting our way back.
So if you’re reading this while balancing your books at 2 AM, remember: growth isn’t a headline. It’s what happens when you replace despair with duct-tape creativity. And honestly? That’s a numbers game I’ll bet on every time.