Forget lemonade stands. When Khaled Garwash was 15, he and a friend used their allowance to start and run a successful business selling freshly made snacks in their native Yemen. By the fifth day, they generated enough profit to break even.

Seven years later, Garwash’s taste for the business world has endured. Today he’s pursuing an undergraduate degree at the American University in Cairo, where he’s double majoring in accounting and finance.

“AUC is considered to have the best business school in the Middle East,” says Garwash, who chose the school on the recommendation of a friend, a recent AUC graduate.

Garwash says Egypt also has a relatively stronger financial services sector compared with many other countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Aliaa Bassiouny, assistant professor of finance and associate chair of the department of management at the American University in Cairo, says that after the series of financial and political crises in the past few years, Egypt’s financial markets and banking sector have grown. She says the stock exchange has witnessed a series of initial public offerings in the past period, with more to follow, “promising access to capital.” This is all good news for business grads.

“We see this as a great opportunity for finance students to benefit from the market dynamics to find jobs in financial services, investment banking and commercial banking,” says Bassiouny. “Our top employers are in the banking sector.”

[Find out how Arab universities are adapting to a changing regional job market.]

Lana Al Kahala, from Syria, graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar with a bachelor’s in business administration in finance and a minor in Middle Eastern and global politics in May. Attending a university in another country was an easy choice.

“I wanted a top-tier education in a world-class university, so Qatar provided that option and was still very close to home,” says Al Kahala, who as an Andrew Carnegie Society Scholar was among those handpicked by deans and department heads to represent her class.

Al Kahala plans to embark on a career in management consulting in Qatar and says the country is “booming not only economically but in every aspect.” Her career aspirations coincide with a growing banking and finance industry.

[See how Arab universities are offering opportunities to women.]

The latest data from the Monster Employment Index Middle East show demand for talent in the banking and finance industry in the Middle East rose 65 percent from last year. The analysis also reports a 67 percent increase in job listings for finance and accounting professionals.

“The Gulf region is experiencing phenomenal growth and this is also reflected in the regional financial sector,” says John O’Brien, associate dean at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.

“With growth in the Islamic finance market outpacing growth in the conventional finance market, Qatar is in a unique position to benefit from this as it separates the Islamic and conventional bank operations with no overlap between the two,” he says. Islamic finance operates according to Islamic law and practices interest-free finance, whereas conventional finance operates on an interest-based principle.

O’Brien says his university’s programs equip students with the knowledge and tools to join the job market in Qatar as well as other markets.

“The careers range from the traditional banking or investment banking to sales and trading and product structuring,” he says. “We also enjoy a very strong relationship with the traditional audit firms and are able to get our international students placed at those organizations.”

O’Brien says Carnegie Mellon organizes mixers and networking events with organizations and invites recruiters to campus to meet students. Bassiouny says the American University in Cairo requires an internship be completed for graduation.

[Understand key facts about American-style universities in the Arab region.]

“I have interned for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Egypt,” says Garwash. “I have also done an internship with Ernst & Young, Egypt.”

Both Garwash and Al Kahala recommend students consider schools in other Arab countries. Al Kahala says going abroad can help students broaden their view of life, contribute to the community around them or, in her case, return one day to Syria to help build the economy. Garwash advises students to look for universities that teach outside the textbook material.

“Always go for the university that offers development programs such as internships, workshops and training,” says Garwash, who is president and founder of the Accounting Association at AUC.

Al Kahala says her next step is to pursue her Master of Science in finance next year at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she has already been admitted. After he graduates, Garwash plans to begin his career in Egypt. And, not surprisingly, the former teen entrepreneur hasn’t given up on his other passion.

“I am planning to eventually start my own business a few years down the road,” says Garwash. “It will probably be in Yemen.”

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Banking, Finance Industry Greets Arab Region University Grads originally appeared on usnews.com