On July 24, 2024, Sharp Corporation signed an agreement with the Elaraby Group (head office: Cairo, Egypt), a producer and seller of home appliances in Egypt, to establish a joint venture for the manufacture of refrigerators. The new company will aim to sell approximately 500,000 refrigerators in the Egyptian market in 2027.

　Sharp and Elaraby have been collaborating since 2004 when the two companies began jointly working on air conditioner technologies, manufacturing, and sales. The Sharp brand currently enjoys high recognition in Egypt for the five products that the partnership manufactures and sells: air conditioners, refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines, and TVs.

　Economic growth in recent years in Egypt and other parts of Africa and the Near/Middle East has fueled rapid expansion of the region’s home appliance market. In Egypt, the market for large refrigerators has been advancing. Sharp and Elaraby thus agreed to build a new factory capable of manufacturing large refrigerators of 600-liter and greater capacity. The smart factory will provide visualization of production, quality control, and equipment information, as well as automation of product conveyance using multi-axis robots. Once onstream, the factory plans to increase production capacity in stages. Combined with an existing facility (production capacity of approx. 330,000 units/year), the new factory will further expand Sharp’s business in the region by meeting Egypt’s strong demand and acting as a production and export hub serving Africa and the Near/Middle East.

■ Overview of Joint Venture

Company name: Horizon for Home Appliances Manufacturing Co.
Business: Manufacture of large refrigerators and upright freezers
Capital: US$30 million
Shareholding ratio: Sharp: 20%; Elaraby Group: 80%
Planned location: Mubarak Industrial Zone, Quesna, north of Cairo, Egypt
Production capacity: 400,000 units/year
Start of operation: March 2026 (planned)

■ Overview of Elaraby Group

Representative	Ibrahim M. El Araby
Foundation	1964 (established production company in 1982)
Location	Cairo, Egypt
Capital	US$141 million
Employees	Approx. 40,000
Business	Manufacture and sales of home appliances and video equipment