Startups Without Borders Celebrates a Diverse Ecosystem at Its First-Ever Summit in Cairo
Mark your calendars!
The Startups Without Borders Summit is launching its first edition in Cairo, setting its sights on transforming Egypt-based entrepreneurs into global game-changers and putting an emphasis on diversity as a way of living in the modern-day ecosystem.
Hosted by the synonymous social enterprise Startups Without Borders, the summit will help connect the most ambitious refugee and migrant entrepreneurs with resources to growth and scale their businesses, while providing investors with an entry-point to the Middle East and North Africa’s ever-expanding and promising ecosystem. Backed by UNDP and AUC V-Lab, the objectives of the summit include exposing the Egyptian startup scene with the opportunity to scale globally as well as exposing newcomer entrepreneurs and strategically integrating their place through networking activities and a variety of tools that can turn their business ideas into a world-leading solution.
"55% of $1-billion startups in Silicon Valley were created by immigrants. It's known the Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian migrant; Yahoo's founder Jerry Yang, arrived to the US from Taiwan and didn't even speak the language. Google's co-founder Sergey Brin was a migrant from the former Soviet Union, and GaryVee frequently points to the fact his migrant background gave him motivation that is unmatched," Startups Without Borders' Founder Valentina Primo tells Startup Scene.
Hosted in the American University in Cairo on the 8th and 9th of November, the event will witness 21 informative talks from globally renowned Arab entrepreneurs, 15 extensive workshops on the viability of entrepreneurship as a career path, and 10 speed mentoring sessions with leading industry experts, including an angel investor’s masterclass brought by Alex Angels and Med Angels.
But that’s only the beginning, as participating entrepreneurs gear up to create impact in the MENA ecosystem provided by the summit’s three tracks: Tech To Scale, Creative Economy, and Female Leadership. Speakers like Anulika Ajufo from Soros Economic Development Fund will be present for the impact investment panel as she leads on investments in the Middle East and Africa.
The summit will also feature Hazami Barmada, founder of Humanity Lab, and an impact strategist who in 2017 disrupted the development and humanitarian system when she launched the Global People’s Summit, the first-ever 100% global online, immersive summit during the UN General Assembly. "This year, we are calling on all entrepreneurs to 'think global.' They say that in order to innovate, we need to ask different people different questions. And what better than a diverse team of founders to do that?" wonders Primo.
The Tech to Scale track will focus on Food-tech, Edu-tech and Fin-tech, all while highlighting the best practices for tech startups to growth locally and globally, and providing the necessary tools to help them offer their services to the world.
In the meantime, the Creative Economy track will highlight how creativity is essential in today’s ecosystem and how boosting your startup’s digital strategy through talent and cultural motivation can lead to a promising future.
Lastly, the Female Leaders track will focus on giving equal opportunities to women in the industry so they can create momentum and inspire female entrepreneurship.
The summit will be divided into four pillars for the attendees to consume, where entrepreneurs can rely on receiving a chance to be inspired by role models of different international backgrounds, access to mentorship, matchmaking and networking opportunities and most importantly, a pitching competition to become the next big thing.
"[Migrant entrepreneurs] are a huge pool of talent and innovation; yet, they are not connected to the resources, the network, and the startup ecosystem. The tech industry is actually missing out on $360 billion due to its lack of diversity; it's time to tap into this incredible opportunity," the founder concludes.
You can buy your tickets here.
