Leeds University Business School alumnus in Study UK Alumni Awards, Egypt
Mohamed Shalaby (MBA 2017) has been recognised for his outstanding achievements, as he is named a finalist in the British Council Study UK Alumni Awards 2026 at the ceremony in Cairo on 10 February.
Mohamed was awarded this year in the Social Action Award category, having previously been nominated as a finalist in the 2024 awards, in the Business and Innovation award category. This year, the awards received over 1,700 applications from around the world.
A Senior Financial Advisor at Pathfinder, USAID, Mohamed has been nominated for his sustained passion for breaking down barriers to women’s economic empowerment through financial inclusion in Egypt.
Through the USAID funded Women’s Economic and Social Empowerment Program, Mohamed delivered a project to address the concerns preventing women from engaging with savings and investment products, through an active consultation process to listen to women, and introducing appropriate products with partner banks and fintechs based on this feedback. This resulted in 57,000 women starting to participate in the financial system, and a 30% increase in women actively managing their own finances.
Mohamed began his career as an Account Manager with Sigma Capital Holding and quickly rose to become a Senior Fund Manager. He then worked as the Investment Manager at Odin Investments, where he played a key role in launching the first Real Estate Trust Fund (REIT) in Egypt. After his tenure at Odin Investments, Mohamed went on to hold several top-level positions in the finance industry, including Managing Director of Elite Financial Advisory, Group Investment Director for Andalusia Group for Medical Services, and Group Finance and Investment Director for Centro CDX Group. Mohamed is a lecturer of economics and finance at both public and private universities in Egypt. He has also served as a non-executive board member for several companies in the investment and financial services sector, including Centro Global Solutions, Elite Financial Consultancy, Coded Investment, Wedian securities brokerage, and B.E. Finance. Mohamed's solid business acumen and strong decision-making skills have positioned him as a knowledgeable and trustworthy expert in the finance and investment industry.
Mohamed explained the impact that studying at Leeds had on the rest of his career:
Studying at the University of Leeds was a turning point in my life. It was there that I was introduced to behavioural economics for the first time-a field that completely changed how I viewed finance and human decision-making. The Leeds experience went far beyond traditional academic learning. In our multicultural classrooms, working alongside international students, I discovered how diverse cultures, backgrounds, and societies shape the way people approach money and risk.
Find out more about studying the Leeds MBA at Leeds University Business School.
