What does it really take for entrepreneurial innovation to drive sustainable change in countries where the institutions are opaque, the playing field is shifting, and state priorities hold the keys to opportunity? This is the central question animating Seham Gahlwash’s PhD thesis, which investigates how entrepreneurs and stakeholders co-produce institutional and industry transitions under opaque institutions and a centralized governance system using Egypt’s fintech and renewable energy sectors as living laboratories.
In Seham Ghalwash's PhD thesis “Breaking the mold together: Collaborative entrepreneurship and institutional transformation in opaque governance contexts", she investigates how entrepreneurs and stakeholders co-produce institutional and industry transitions under opaque institutions and a centralized governance system using Egypt’s fintech and renewable energy sectors as living laboratories.
Ahead of her upcoming PhD defence she shares some insights from her research:
While much of the existing research focuses on lone entrepreneurial heroes or sweeping state control, this work sheds new light on the dynamic, relational, and multi-level processes shaping institutional transformation in politically sensitive settings.
Drawing on 10 years of immersive fieldwork and over sixty in-depth interviews, Seham's research uncovers how entrepreneurial ventures align with state objectives while experimenting, hybridizing, and orchestrating across sector boundaries, navigating what’s described as “foggy transition spaces.”
Key findings include:
- Multi-stakeholder collaboration as a driver for remaking entrenched financial systems and advancing digital inclusion.
- How “enabler chaining” and “sustainable institutional legacy” shape the development of impactful ventures in the renewable energy sector.
- Comparative insights revealing how entrepreneurs iteratively test, align, and adjust in the face of regulatory opacity and shifting policy windows.
Seham’s integrative approach transcends theoretical binaries, providing actionable guidance for scholars, policymakers, and ecosystem actors seeking to foster innovation, inclusion, and sustainability in similarly complex environments.
PhD defence
Seham Ghalwash will defend her PhD project on 28 October 2025 (in person and streaming).
See location, summary and other details of Seham's defence here
Reach out to Seham on LinkedIn
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