Alaa & Tarek Sryo

Industry:  Stationary
Founded: 1975

www.sascogroup.com 

Armed with pens and trendy binders, Tarek and Alaa Sryo are starting their own Egyptian revolution. The brothers joined their father's company in 2005, with hopes of introducing modern business practices to Egypt's stagnant stationary market.   

The Business 

Sasco stationery group is engaged in paper converting and plastic stationery products and it is the exclusive licensee of Reynolds France. Established in 1975 with its headquarters in Egypt, the group has grown rapidly to become a market leader in every segment that it operates. In a little more than 3 decades Sasco has become the biggest manufacturer of stationery and writing instruments in the Middle East and Africa. Over the last 30 years the group had focused immensely in expanding its scope of business by the establishment of more than 6 manufacturing bases in Egypt to produce more than 200 different items of stationery products and a staff of more than 1000 employees as well as offices, and operations in 5 different countries.

The Entrepreneurs

The Sryo brothers have always been proud of their family business. In the tight-knit community of manufacturers and wholesalers in which they were raised, Mr. Sryo and his brand were well-known and trusted. They both enrolled in the American University in Cairo in 2001 and pursued degrees in Political Economy and Economics respectively. College introduced them to a new demographic of trend-conscious shoppers and inspired them to think innovatively about SASCO’s potential. Meanwhile, they continued to volunteer at the company and witnessed the effect of cheap Asian imports on the price sensitive Egyptian market.

The brothers graduated determined to help SASCO transition from a slow-growing business based on tradition, to a high-growth business based on market demands and bottom line improvement. They started at the bottom of the hierarchy in product development in the factories but quickly proved themselves. Tarek, who followed the sales and marketing track, pioneered SASCO's after-sales service, developed modern trade as a distribution channel, and invested in new vehicles to facilitate more efficient product delivery to clients. Alaa, who focused on finance and manufacturing, revamped SASCO's products to target specific demographics and introduced new lines for a younger and more sophisticated audience.They succeeded in growing exports from three to 25 countries and by 2009 the founders couldn’t ignore the bottom line boost from this fresh perspective. They appointed Tarek and Alaa Senior VPs of marketing and production respectively and handed over control of day to day operations.