Seedstars Brings Their Newest Co-working and Co-living Hub to Egypt Next Week

Switzerland-based Seedstars is gearing up to inaugurate its first hub in the MENA region on May 4th, and they've selected the Greater Cairo's leafy affluent district of Maadi to be home for Seedspace Cairo, in an inaugural event gathering some of the key players of Egypt's startup ecosystem and international community.

Known for their massive annual summit held in Lausanne, Seedstars is a Switzerland-based company that brings together key stakeholders to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through technology and entrepreneurship. Being the first global startup competition focused on emerging and fast-growing markets, the organisation connects stakeholders, builds companies from scratch with public and private partners, and invests in high growth startups within these ecosystems. For five years now, it has built a network in over 65 countries, with the teams traveling the world to source innovative startup investment opportunities.

The hub is a three-floor villa, with a range of facilities across multiple floors catering for different types of entrepreneurs; from introverted workers to extroverted businesspeople. The facilities include flexible hot-desk spaces, dedicated desks, private offices, meeting rooms and awesome events space fashioning a swimming pool and a 100-square-meter rooftop. Additionally, Seedspace Cairo will have a co-living area, an accommodation alternative for those wishing to come to Cairo and experience the efervescent entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Seedspace Cairo's inaugural event will not only open up the space, but also host the Seedstars World's Cairo competition, with a dynamic pitching event to bring the five most outstanding entrepreneurs under the spotlight, especially ones who are targeting solutions that align with UN Sustainable Development Goals. The startups selected to pitch at the Seedstars Cairo event need to be less than 2 years old, with less than $500,000 worth of funds raised, a minimum viable product built, ideally with existing traction and the potential for regional and global scalability.

With a strong network of international partners, such as BBVA, Merck and Enel, Seedstars is looking for smart startups that tackle regional issues and develop profitable and sustainable products for the global market, to support their regional businesses and growth. These startups will be pitching before a selection of jury which consists of Regional Manager of MENA at Seedstars Meghan Warner, Head of Digital Ventures and and strategic alliance at CIB Noha Shaker, Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures Karim Hussein, and Venture Capital Associate at Averroes Ventures Mohamed Assad.

Other than the pitching event, some of Egypt's brightest entrepreneurs will take to the stage to tell the attendees about their success stories, including Managing Director of Seedstars Egypt Kennedy Kitheka, and the founder and CEO at RiseUp Abdelhameed Sharara. There will also be a panel-format discussion bringing some of Seedstars alumni together, which include Founder and Managing Director at SolarizEgypt Yaseen Abdel-Ghaffar, CEO at WideBot Mohamed Nabil, and Co-Founder of Raye7 Ahmed Negm.

"It is a strategic step for us at Seedstars, so that we can be closer to the community we have gathered over the last years, to continue supporting them 365 days throughout the year, with different activities, events and, of course, a great place from where businesses can be created, grown, and scaled,” says Romulo Navarrete, Head of Operations at Seedspace.

“We aim to have 15 hubs around the world by the end of 2018,” continues Navarrete. “This expansion is pivotal so that we can bring more impact to local ecosystems while interconnecting the different locations, creating access to an international community of entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, and corporates interested in innovation." 

Photography: courtesy of Seedstars.