Meet the Expert Lineup of Mentors for Seedspace Cairo’s ‘It’s Easier Online’ Hackathon

With no clear end in sight to how the Coronavirus crisis will play out, Egypt’s vulnerable communities and businesses are struggling to adapt to what we now dub as “the new normal”. This reality now involves eliminating human contact to the bare minimum, which leaves the country’s rural businesses and informal sector at a loss. 

These market vendors, wholesalers and farmers are now in need of unique, smart solutions for this unprecedented economic topple. In comes Seedspace Cairo’s new hackathon: It’s Easier Online. The online event invites startups to think up a digital resolve to Egypt’s informal sector dilemma.

These bright thinkers will need to face two major challenges facing this community: Challenge A) how to help urban market vendors sell in contact-free ways due to closures and curfews brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak, and B) create a supply chain and business model to how these vendors can be equipped to catapult their local businesses into well-oiled-machines that can package, produce, transport and market their produce in both urban and rural cities.

Three winning entrepreneurs will each receive EGP 200,000, and two runner ups will get a cash prize of EGP 20,000. In addition to the grand prizes, startups will have the chance to work one-on-one with Seedstars’ impressive slate of mentors, including execs and experts from Aramex, Mastercard, The World Bank, World Food Programme and UNDP.

Find out more and apply here.

Full list of mentors below:

• Samer Mansour

General Manager at Aramex Egypt

• Karim Morcos

Senior Product Manager, Mastercard

• Rana Yacoub

Consultant

• Farida Saiid

Entrepreneurship Services Manager, Innovation Hub, El Sewedy Education

•  

  Oday Kamal

Innovation Consultant, World Food Programme

• Abdel Rahman Edris

Investment Associate, Cairo Angels

• Hany Soliman

General Manager, Paytabs

• Boshra Kastour

Financial Analyst, KarmSolar

• Amr Hussein

Engagement Manager, RiseUp

• Farida Matta

Engagement Manager, UNDP

• Nadeem Barakat

Head of Business Developement, Homezmar

• Mohamed Baraka

Founder & CEO, Hovo App

• Sama Singer

Media and Events Coordinator, Ibtikar Khana

• Hany Wadie

Founder & CEO, Shira Group

• Nono Ghannam

Founder, Startup Galaxy

• Belal Eid

CEO, The GEEQ Shop

• Tarek El-Bakry

CEO, Business Boomers for E-commerce

• Seif Taher

Social Enterprise Support Manager, Nahdet El Mahrousa

• Mostafa Salem

Invsetment Analyst, Cairo Angels

• Ahmed El Sherif

Director of Business Developement, Rain Making 

• Margareet Magdy

Director of Business Incubator, Sekem Group

• Ahmed Magdy

Partners Relationship Director, Rain Making