PepsiCo, RiseUp, Ministry of Solidarity Unite To Launch 'Egypt 2030' Hackathon
“In a country like Egypt, rich in agriculture and has the Nile, we shouldn’t be facing that problem,” PepsiCo Egypt’s CEO Mohamed Shelbaya tells Startup Scene, reflecting on ending hunger; one of the pillars of Egypt 2030 hackathon, which also aims to take on gender equality in the workforce.
On the first day of RiseUp Summit 2018, December 7th, PepsiCo, RiseUp, and the Ministry of Solidarity announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a campaign towards zero-hunger and against female misrepresentation in the Egyptian labour force, via an entrepreneurial tool; a hackathon that will be active as of April 2019.
Positioning itself as the executive arm of Egypt’s SDG 2030 vision, the Egypt 2030 Hackathon wants to enable innovators, entrepreneurs, techies, and designers to create solutions for the challenges impacting Egypt’s most pressing social and economic challenges.
“We offer youth a unique opportunity to conjoin their efforts and include them in the development of their country through initiatives for entrepreneurship support,” says Mohamed Shelbaya, PepsiCo Egypt's CEO. PepsiCo is offering a seed fund of a total of EGP 500,000 to help the winning team set up their project in addition to the time and the know-how of our entire system to help his project see the light.
“Since our presence in Egypt, 70 years ago, we have believed that the Egyptian youth – with their creative ideas, and ambition - are the core assets of the country; they can face challenges and push their nation forward," Shelbaya adds. "We seek to support the youth and lend them a hand through the cooperation between the sides of what we call the golden triangle: the private sector, the public sector, and Civil Society Institutions." PepsiCo is also keen on offering vocational and technical training to the youth in order to enhance their skills and provide them with work experiences, until they are able to realise their ideas and proposals. So, by challenging F&B entrepreneurs to bring about a solution for the hunger crisis in Egypt and gender-based discrimination, they expect the result to be outstanding.
"Through our initiative, we aim to involve the youth and urge them to utilize their skills in order to find solutions for the challenges facing their society, as well as giving them the chance to combine all their efforts to develop their nation by offering innovative solutions to real-life problems,” he concludes.
For more info, send an email to hackathons@riseup.co.
