São Paulo – Demand for Portuguese language classes, specifically the variation spoken in Brazil, has increased in recent years in Egypt. The observation comes from Evelyn Koch, educational coordinator at the Brazilian Institute in Cairo. The Brazilian has been living and working in Cairo for three years. “Ever since I started, demand has only grown because it is a niche market. We have many students who seek to learn the language because they work with foreign trade, and speaking Portuguese brings them benefits. These benefits can also be seen in the area of tourism. Tour guides love Brazilians and aspire to work with this audience,” she revealed.
The school’s Portuguese teachers are freelancers, and classes are available in person, in Cairo, or over the internet. Today, four professionals are linked to the institute, founded in 2019, which already has over 50 enrolled students.
Established by a Brazilian, the institution now belongs to Egyptian Hassan Mustafa Khattab Abdalah. “We are teaching Brazilian Portuguese because it is a great culture. The Egyptians do not know much about it, so we needed this department to disseminate and deliver this information to the people. Also, to help students find opportunities in the market as the Brazilian language has a great prospect in Egypt, like in cultural centers, tourism, translation, and teaching,” said Abdalah.
Student profiles
The executives explained the primary demand is for professionals in the tourism market. There is, for example, the expectation a nonstop flight between Cairo and São Paulo will be implemented. But the number of students working in new areas has also been increasing, such as telemarketing and multinationals serving Portuguese-speaking countries such as Angola, and others that undertake directly with Brazil.
One of these students is Basma Ali Elhussiny. “I started to work in the cosmetics field, especially with Brazilian products, over 13 years ago,” she said. Basma founded Eve Kayli in Brazil, a company with over seven distinct brands, and created private labels for other clients.
After living with Brazilians and realizing she could understand some phrases, the entrepreneur decided to start learning Portuguese professionally at the end of last year. “With my continuous trips and living in Brazil, I acquired some words and sentences to start talking, and it made me keen to learn it in a professional way,” she concluded.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
