StartEgypt Forum Returns with its Second Annual Conference on January 29th

StartEgypt programme is holding its second annual forum on the 29th of January at The Greek Campus from 10 AM to 8 PM, to showcase its 45 startups incubated in Cairo, Assiut, and Alexandria. 

Funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and powered by Flat6Labs, StartEgypt is a pre-acceleration incubation programme, established to inspire and support thousands of Egyptian entrepreneurs and add much-needed exposure to social impact enterprises.

Eleven startups, out of the 45, have been qualified to end the day with a thrilling pitch competition to present their ideas in front of a judging panel for a chance to win EGP 200,000 in total, awarded to the top five startups. The four-month incubation programme provides training, educational mentorship, and coaching by industry leaders. As well as, technical and business support to social impact startups in the fields of education, agriculture, healthcare, renewables, environment, transportation, financial inclusion and marginalised communities.

StartEgypt Forum is an annual showcase event and the culmination of the incubated startups’ hard work during the year. The Forum is also designed to provide an outstanding experience for stakeholders interested in entrepreneurship, where there is an opportunity to enjoy a startup huddle, pitches, engaging activities and exceptional panel discussion to ensure all candidates are well-equipped with information about entrepreneurship and the Egyptian ecosystem. 

The eleven Egyptian startups that empower social impact will compete in the pitch competition, come from a variety of industries and use different technologies. Their business ideas are the following:  

Mycelium

A bio-tech company that grows eco-friendly biodegradable biopolymer, on agriculture waste, to make sustainable products that can replace the plastic in the field of packaging, construction, and furniture.

Shetla

A mobile application that assists farmers in agricultural operations, irrigation and fertilization and the detection of diseases.

Smart Farm

A system that depends on AI technologies and data science to provide food security and to automate the greenhouses system and solve agricultural problems. It supplies the plants minerals as needed and observes greenhouses through a mobile application without anyone being physically present. This technology aims to enhance the quality of the crops and increase production.

Hadotopia

Hadotopia offers a plethora of content including stories and information for all ages, in traditional Arabic, slang Arabic, and English. The platform targets parents in an effort to help them adequately educate their children.

Mashro3i

A website platform that connects student graduation projects with entities that helps them to commercialise it and possibly introduce them to the job market.

Ero

Ero is a waste management startup that was initiated to create innovative solutions for paper leftovers. By collecting, recycling and producing paper commodities to substitute environmentally irresponsible materials, the startup’s name is a Finnish word for difference, which is what they plan to create.

Pyro

Pyro offers an on-site customised Pyrolysis system that works on any agricultural waste to generate bio-charcoal. The system takes in the cellulosic agricultural wastes and produces bio-charcoal as small bricks.

Banlastic 

Banlastic introduced a eco-friendly shopping bag made of cloth as an alternative to the plastic shopping bag and will be a strong starting point for people to stop consuming single-use plastic bags which has a very adverse impact on the environment as each Banlastic bag is sustainable.

Biofeedx

A wearable gadget that accurately measures the muscle’s electrical activity during a workout. The measured data is visualised on the user’s mobile app in gamified visual, the app allows for accurate reporting about the user’s performance with the ability of the coach/doctor to modify the user’s training parameters and help them improve. It also allows current physiotherapy access and monitor a larger number of patients, reduces the cost of physical rehabilitation on patients and offers a more efficient and objective way of remote patient monitor rather than home care.

i-Sew

A mobile app that connects the disabled community with fashion designers who want to make their designs in a professional, cost-effective manner in a short time, in an effort to help involve people with disabilities in our society while providing a reliable income they could live off.

Naql Misr

 
A digital online platform for providing logistics transport services to serve individuals and commercial and industrial institutions through the operation section to manage and operate a fleet of different transport trucks.

The programme had originally launched in Cairo in 2017, with the first cycle starting in June 2018. After their launch in Cairo, StartEgypt recognised the potential that entrepreneurs in non-centralised cities had. Therefore in 2019, the programme has expanded to Assiut and Alexandria graduating 45 social impact startups over the course of two cycles in Cairo, two cycles in Assiut, and one cycle in Alexandria, with entrepreneurs coming from all over Egypt, and startups working across various industries, offering innovative solutions to disrupt the market.