StartUp Grind Opens New Chapter in Cairo

The exponential rise in technology can most likely be attributed to the establishment of a community of innovators. Chances are we wouldn't have all the amazing apps and technological devices that make up our daily lives without the establishment of Silicon Valley. Looking to create the same inspirational eco-system, Egypt will be launching the first ever chapter of Startup Grind, which aims to educate and inspire Egypt's future job creators.

Startup Grind may not be a household name in Egypt, but elsewhere in the world it is. Originating in California in 2010, Startup Grind was conceived by Derek Andersen and Spencer Nielsen as a gathering for friends to share their experience and knowledge on developing successful startups. Fast forward to four years later, and Startup Grind, with the support of Google, could be found setting up separate chapters in a 100 cities spread over 42 countries.

Looking to become part of the global community, Cairo will be hosting it's very first Startup Grind conference on Saturday at the Greek Campus. “It took us six months just to get the license to start up our very own chapter, but we have overcome all the obstacles, and cannot wait to start building our own community,” explains Abdelrahman Mohamed, one of the organisers behind Egypt's chapter.

What separates Startup Grind from other tech startup conferences is the fact that it isn't an annual event or competition, but rather a monthly discussion that provides education, inspiration, and most importantly the connections that entrepreneurs need to develop great ideas into even better businesses.

Every month will feature fireside chat interviews, speakers, and ample opportunities to make the connections required to turn ideas into jobs. The first installation of Startup Grind in Cairo will feature keynote speaker Omar Mandour, the general manager of Coca-cola, who will be sharing his experiences and lessons learned from managing a major corporation.

The “Grinders' Chat” with Omar Mandour will include a behind-the-scenes interview and will also give those in attendance the opportunity to ask questions. Also on the schedule is a workshop conducted by an Egyptian non-profit organization called the Misr El-Kheir Foundation. This successful non-profit accepts donations with the aim of building and improving health, education, social solidarity, and scientific research. By explaining their business model at the conference, Misr El-Kheir's workshop will give inspired innovators the blueprint for scaling and replicating their strategy, which in turn has helped them reduce poverty, illness, unemployment and illiteracy, while being able to grow as a non-profit startup.

The event is scheduled to run between 5pm-9pm, and will wrap up with the opportunity to mix and mingle among innovators, entrepreneurs, and potential financial backers. In the case of almost all start ups, an idea is important, but more even more important is making the right connections. With this conference being globally recognized we couldn't think of a better place to see if your idea has wings, and considering that this will become a monthly event, this won't be your only opportunity to learn if your startup is ready to fly.