Pitching on a Boat: Careem Takes Over the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria's Techne Summit

We might have seen some of the coolest pitching competitions in Egypt; but nothing probably matches the adventurous incursion into the sea that Careem's 'Pitch and Sail' competition is promising to bring about. The car-booking service, the Middle East's latest unicorn, is bringing the innovative format to the Techne Summit taking over Alexandria's Bibliotheca Alexandrina next September 30th. 

Pitching on a boat in front of regional and international investors, startups hailing from across Egypt and the Middle East will have the chance to embark on a journey - quite literally - where presenting their ideas to investors will be framed by the thrilling sound and movement of the sea waves.  “The competition will give entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase their talent for investors in a way they may have never imagined,” said Ramy Kato, Careem Egypt Managing Director. "We will get the entrepreneurs literally on deck to see if they can catch the wind in their sails as they chart the exciting waters of a startup company," he said, adding that the company will also have a booth and hold inspirational on stage at the summit's tracks.   

In just five years since its inception, Careem is a pioneer in the region’s ‘sharing economy,’ having grown a float of over 250,000 captains moving millions of people every day across the region and particularly in Egypt, where it recently doubled its network from seven to 14 cities, setting off to employ 100,000 captains across the country by end of 2017. Earlier this year, the startup made headlines when it nabbed a massive $500 million investment followed by another round by Chinese car hailing platform Didi Chuxing. The startup, the Middle East's first unicorn, also made its first investment this year, focusing on Egyptian public transport startup Swvl. 

The Techne Summit, kicking off this weekend in Alexandria, will also feature several startup competitions, including the global accelerator for emerging markets Seedstars World, Enpact trip to Berlin, and MO4 Network's competition for media-focused startups. 

For more information about the summit, visit their website.