{"id":236438,"date":"2021-04-27T12:46:38","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T09:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-egypts-startup-scene\/"},"modified":"2021-04-27T12:46:38","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T09:46:38","slug":"heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-egypts-startup-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-egypts-startup-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"#Here\u2019s what you need to know about Egypt\u2019s startup scene"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3b4ac618591\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3b4ac618591\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-egypts-startup-scene\/#Why_Egypt\" >Why Egypt?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-egypts-startup-scene\/#Pitch_meetings\" >Pitch meetings<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Here\u2019s what you need to know about Egypt\u2019s startup scene<\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2021%2F04%2Fshutterstock_1010936941.jpg&amp;signature=6d27b5144b0dcca64563d1f9ae7d4252\" \/><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Egypt is fast becoming one of the most promising arenas for innovative startups \u2014 with a growing community of young, tech-minded entrepreneurs, international investors are sitting up and taking notice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The country has one of the fastest-growing startup scenes in the MENA region and is becoming a global competitor. According to <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/startupgenome.com\/ecosystems\/cairo\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a report from Startup Genome<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Egypt is in the top ten global ecosystems with affordable talentand has a total ecosystem value of $1.2 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are multiple factors for why Egypt is worth keeping an eye on. It has a youthful population with around 50% below the age of 30. A high percentage of college students graduate every year with technical skills, including engineering, IT, and energy. The government has also invested heavily in initiatives designed to incentivize learning such skills. <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloombergquint.com\/global-economics\/which-20-countries-will-dominate-global-growth-in-2024\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Bloomberg<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it was the eighth-highest contributor to global growth in 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Next Web recently hosted <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hangout with VCs Egypt<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a boutique event that brings together investors and ready-to-fund startups. The Hangout, which was held on April 8, matched up 25 up-and-coming Egyptian startups with investors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Egypt fast becoming a hotspot for development, here\u2019s what some of the investors had to say about the country\u2019s future.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Egypt\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why Egypt?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The event was hosted in partnership with the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a> Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) of the Egyptian government\u2019s IT Industry Development Agency (ITIDA). Amr Mahfouz, CEO of ITIDA, told TNW why Egypt is a place to watch:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\/><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can say that investing in Egyptian startups is an investment in the future as the startup business in Egypt has tremendous potential to expand due to the large economy and huge consumer base, mature entrepreneurship scene, and last but not least the accelerated digital transformation and tech-adoption across all sectors and industries that offer huge opportunities for startups to thrive.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The event began with a panel of international VCs who were keen to see what the startup ecosystem has to offer. According to the investors, Egypt has several growing markets, some of which would be considered overinvested in other parts of the world. These include fintech, e-commerce, B2B commerce, and other tech service solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Issa Aghabi, founder of Access Bridge Ventures, told TNW why he chose to invest in Egypt, and why other investors should consider doing the same: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a great market and a gateway to both the Middle East and the wider African continent. We are seeing a lot of strong and capable entrepreneurs are building products to solve local problems that are also relevant across the region\/emerging market. Egypt is a great place to validate and scale. This has been validated through a vibrant and growing ecosystem that is relentless and shows no signs of slowing down.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also cited Egypt\u2019s high rates of tech adoption, large and youthful population, and growing support for the tech ecosystem from the government. He added, \u201cIt is a region that has historically been neglected and is now at the cusp of its technological revolution both in terms of consumption and creation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are several local factors that make Egypt not just an attractive place for outside investors, but the ideal place for homegrown talent to remain. The country is projected to <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dailynewsegypt.com\/2020\/10\/31\/egypt-should-have-125-higher-educational-institutions-by-2030-al-sisi\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have 125 universities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by 2030, and also has a high percentage of people who speak European languages, while also having a relatively low cost of living.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Pitch_meetings\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pitch meetings<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the panel, the startups and the investors were matched up in several different private rooms, where each startup was allowed to pitch to four different investors for four minutes apiece. After a short break, certain startups were permitted into follow-up meetings with the investors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oscar Ramos, Partner at SOSV said, \u201cThe event was an eye-opener about the potential of the market and local startups. I am very positive it will lead to a potential first investment and more activity in the region.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By the time the event was over, there had been over 130 meetings between the startups and the investors, with 100% of the investors saying they intended to have further meetings with the startups.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, according to Mahfouz, this startup boom is only the beginning: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the regional and global competition, we are confident that our startup ecosystem will continue to evolve and thrive with more engagement from society, more funding from the business sector, and more investors which will contribute heavily to shaping a better startup scene and entrepreneurship environment in Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aboudi Al-Qattan, investment associate at DASH Ventures, said the Egyptian ecosystem is a greenhouse that promotes the rapid growth of ideas: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[We at DASH] regularly engage with exciting startups addressing real, tangible, regional and global problems. From FinTech, to Healthcare, to eCommerce, we are in the midst of rampant entrepreneurial development in Egypt, and it is our responsibility as investors to continue supporting and engaging with these transformational entrepreneurs.\u00a0 We are extremely bullish on Egypt and fervently believe that this is only the beginning for what will likely become a global entrepreneurial hotspot.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His words also echoed the sentiments of everyone present at the Hangout event: \u201cWhile the entire MENA region is exciting, the sheer size of Egypt coupled with the natural creativity of the population make the country an ideal melting pot for entrepreneurship. International investors risk missing out on exponential growth and must take note of the ecosystem before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;appId=378011798897423&amp;version=v2.6\" id=\"socialSrcFacebook\" type=\"text\/template\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/vcs-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-egypts-startup-scene\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Here\u2019s what you need to know about Egypt\u2019s startup scene&#8221; Egypt is fast becoming one of the most promising arenas for innovative startups \u2014 with a growing community of young, tech-minded entrepreneurs, international investors are sitting up and taking notice. The country has one of the fastest-growing startup scenes in the MENA region and is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":236439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/04\/shutterstock_1010936941.jpg&signature=feceffc71531e56cd0a8db3a471bba33","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}