Egypt’s Entrepreneur Awards Reveal 2026 Finalists

Ahead of its sixth edition, taking place on November 26th at the Grand Egyptian Museum, Egypt’s Entrepreneur Awards (EEA) has unveiled the finalists across its nine categories. The announcement was made at a special ceremony in Cairo, marking the first time the awards have brought their shortlist into the public eye through an in-person event.

With three finalists in the running for each category, the shortlist offers a look at the businesses and founders shaping Egypt’s entrepreneurial landscape.

RISING STAR AWARD

The Rising Star Award recognises early-stage ventures that are already showing signs of lasting potential. It celebrates promising businesses with original ideas, bold solutions and early market traction, as well as the founders working to turn those ideas into viable businesses.

HERBANOL

Omar Osama

Herbanol is an Egyptian startup developing natural products and solutions, drawing on research and the potential of natural resources. Its work centres on translating ideas around natural ingredients and innovation into practical products.

PARLEX AI

Mohamed Mohsen, Ahmed Hammam

Parlex AI develops Arabic-first conversational and voice automation technology for banks and financial institutions. Its platform uses AI to automate customer engagement, collections, onboarding and KYC processes, with a focus on understanding Arabic dialects and financial terminology.

RAID AI

Ahmed Ehab, Mohamed Mounir, Moaz Salem and Mohamed Awad

Raid AI develops technology designed to detect and counter audio deepfakes in real time. Its tools focus on identifying manipulated audio and protecting sensitive communications against increasingly sophisticated AI-generated impersonation and fraud.

PROPTECH AWARD

The Proptech Award recognises ventures using technology and data to change how real estate is built, bought, sold, managed and experienced. This includes everything from property discovery and digital transactions to construction technology, smart buildings and asset management, with an emphasis on improving transparency, efficiency and accessibility

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BIRDNEST

Ahmed Fadda, Mostafa El-Nahawy

BirdNest operates in the hospitality and property management space, using technology to manage serviced accommodation and improve the experience of short-term stays. Its model brings together property operations and guest services, helping owners manage and market their spaces.

LEMON SPACES

Mohamed Ezzeldin Al Atrash

Lemon Spaces offers serviced apartments designed to provide an alternative to conventional hotel stays. The company combines furnished accommodation with hospitality services and technology-enabled processes, including guest check-in and support, catering to people looking for flexible short- and longer-term stays.

STITCH

Bassem Nassif

Stitch is a proptech platform developing AI-powered tools for real estate businesses. Its solutions support lead capture and qualification, sales processes and post-handover customer service.

PRODUCT DESIGN AWARD

The Product Design Award celebrates ventures and designers developing products that bring together creativity, functionality and innovation. It recognises work that balances thoughtful aesthetics with practical purpose, creating products that are intuitive, useful and designed around the people who use them.

BLOCK SOLUTIONS EGYPT

Ramy Mohamed Hassan, Domenico Anzelmi and Markus Silverberg

Block Solutions Egypt develops modular construction materials made using recycled plastic. Its building blocks are designed to offer an alternative to conventional construction materials, combining a focus on cost efficiency with more sustainable approaches to building.

HUMANITY CODE

Yara El Gabry, Yomna El Gabry

Humanity Code is an Egyptian activewear brand producing sportswear and everyday clothing. Its range includes pieces such as leggings, sports bras, tops and coordinated sets, bringing functional clothing into the wider lifestyle and fashion market.

PENCILIGHT

Mohamed Mabrouk

Pencilight is an Egyptian lighting design and manufacturing company creating decorative lighting for residential and commercial spaces. The business develops its designs locally and oversees their production, bringing design and manufacturing together under one roof.

HEALTH & WELLBEING AWARD

The Health & Wellbeing Award recognises ventures using innovation to improve health, care and overall wellbeing. The category spans areas including digital health, medical technology, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, preventive care and wellness, with a focus on expanding access and improving the quality of care and health outcomes.

AQUAFIT

Sherif Yassin

Aquafit focuses on aquatic fitness and water-based exercise, offering training built around the physical benefits of exercising in water. Its approach brings together fitness and low-impact exercise for people looking for an alternative to conventional gym-based training.

DERMACY LABS

Amr Saleh

Dermacy Labs is an Egyptian skincare company developing products around research-led formulations and skin health. Public information on the company’s specific product range is limited, so its positioning would benefit from confirmation directly with the business.

OWN SNACKS

Noor Gamali, Ameer Gamali

OWN Snacks is an Egyptian healthy-snacking company developing convenient food products positioned as alternatives to conventional packaged snacks. Its range focuses on more nutritious options for people looking to make different choices when it comes to everyday snacking.

FINTECH FORWARD AWARD

The Fintech Forward Award celebrates ventures using financial technology to change how people and businesses manage, move, save and invest money. It covers areas such as digital banking, payments, lending, insurance, wealth management and financial literacy.

INVIA

Yehia Ashour

INVIA develops an AI-powered financial operating system for small and medium-sized businesses. Its platform brings together tools for bookkeeping, financial management, cash flow and inventory, helping businesses manage their finances and day-to-day operations in one place.

PAYMINT

Mohamed Yehya

PayMint is an Egyptian fintech company providing cashless payment and payroll management solutions. Its services help businesses manage salary payments while giving employees access to digital financial services and associated benefits.

SWYPEX

Ahmed Mansour, Mohamed Rabie

Swypex provides a financial management platform for businesses, bringing together corporate cards, payments, expense tracking and invoice management. The platform is designed to give companies greater visibility and control over their spending and financial operations.

DISRUPTIVE DUO FOR MARKET INNOVATIONS AWARD

Presented by the AmCham Entrepreneurship and Innovation Committee, the Disruptive Duo Award recognises collaborations between a startup and an established company that have resulted in a product, service or business model with a meaningful impact on their industry. It highlights what can happen when the agility of a startup meets the resources and reach of a larger business.

ERADA FINANCE + PAYMOB

Islam Shawky (Paymob)

Erada Finance is an Egyptian non-bank financial institution focused on providing financing to micro, small and medium-sized businesses. Paymob develops payment infrastructure that enables businesses to accept digital payments through channels including bank cards and mobile wallets. The collaboration brings business financing together with digital payment capabilities. Erada Finance’s representative was not identified in the information provided.

HNDL FLEET MANAGEMENT + EGYPTIAN TRANS NSCO

Adham Hanafy (HNDL), Mostafa Aboelsaoud (HNDL), Mohamed Abugad (HNDL), Mohamed Ghareeb (HNDL) and Abir Leheta (Egytrans NOSCO)

HNDL Fleet Management develops technology for managing vehicle fleets and logistics operations, helping businesses monitor vehicles and oversee their day-to-day activity. Egytrans NOSCO operates in the transportation and logistics sector. The partnership brings fleet management technology into an established transport operation.

LAYN + SODIC

Zeyad Zein (LAYN), Mohamed El-Hashemy (LAYN), Ayman Amer (SODIC), Ehab Amer (SODIC) and Ahmed Mokhtar (SODIC)

LAYN develops locally engineered 3D concrete-printing technology for construction, with applications in producing architectural and urban design elements. SODIC is one of Egypt’s established real estate developers. Their collaboration brings an emerging construction technology into the context of a major property development business.

DEEPTECH AWARD

The Deeptech Award recognises ventures building products around advanced scientific and engineering developments. It covers fields including artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, cybersecurity, blockchain and advanced materials, celebrating businesses using technical breakthroughs to address complex problems.

INVUCTAX

Bimal Mehta, Ahmed Farouk

I could not confidently identify a public company profile matching the finalist name Invuctax. There is an Egyptian cybersecurity company with a similar name, Invictux, but there is not enough evidence to establish that it is the same business. The finalist’s exact spelling and company profile should be confirmed directly with EEA before this entry is used.

PEARL SEMICONDUCTOR

Ayman Ahmed, Akmal Elhak

Pearl Semiconductor is an Egyptian fabless semiconductor company developing integrated circuits, with a focus on high-performance timing technology and reference clock solutions. Its work targets applications across sectors including telecommunications, networking, automotive and industrial technology.

RASPIRE

Kareem Selim

Raspire is an Egyptian cybersecurity startup developing an AI-powered application security platform. Its technology is designed to identify and respond to digital threats, including fraud, API abuse and unauthorised access, helping businesses protect their applications and systems.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES IN E-COMMERCE AWARD

The Customer Experiences in E-commerce Award recognises businesses rethinking how people discover, shop and interact with products online. It celebrates companies using technology, design and data to improve the experience across browsing, checkout, fulfilment and after-sales service, while building customer loyalty.

KEMITT

Mahmoud Fouad

KEMITT is an Egyptian online marketplace focused on furniture and home décor. It connects customers with furniture designers and manufacturers, bringing products from different makers together on one platform and simplifying the process of discovering and purchasing pieces for the home.

TAYARA INC

Abanob Tawfik

Public information points to a company called Tayar Inc, founded in 2023, which operates a marketplace connecting businesses with freelance delivery riders. The platform is designed to help businesses access delivery capacity without maintaining an entirely in-house fleet. The spelling and identity should be confirmed with EEA, as the publicly available company profile uses “Tayar”, rather than “Tayara”.

VOO

Karim Abouzeid, Omar Abouzeid

VOO is an Egyptian quick-commerce platform offering groceries, snacks, household essentials and personal care products through an app. The company operates its own inventory and fulfilment model, managing the process from product availability to delivery rather than functioning solely as a marketplace.

AGRITECH AWARD

The Agritech Award celebrates ventures applying technology and innovation to agriculture and the wider food value chain. It covers areas such as smart farming, irrigation, robotics, biotechnology, sustainable production, digital marketplaces and supply chain solutions, with an emphasis on improving productivity, resource efficiency, market access and food security.

AGRICAN

Salem Ghanam

AgriCan is an Egyptian agritech company developing robotics and automation solutions for agricultural operations. Its technology includes robots designed to support tasks such as pesticide spraying, crop transportation and data collection, with the aim of improving efficiency and reducing the manual work involved in farming.

CROPSA

Fady Ibrahim, Abanob Gamal, Mahmoud Shehata

Cropsa is a digital agricultural marketplace connecting farms, suppliers and traders. Its platform supports the buying and selling of agricultural products, while also providing market information and digital services intended to make it easier for businesses across the agricultural sector to connect and trade.

EMPOWER CAPITAL

Hatem Elgamal, Haytham Elgamal

Empower Capital works in sustainability and resource recovery, developing solutions that turn agricultural and industrial food waste into useful resources. Its work includes converting organic waste into products such as biogas and biofertilisers, linking waste management with renewable energy and agricultural applications.