Tech in Africa
The Information Technology Industry Development Agency has taken part in a symposium organized by USAID, ITIDA, and AmCham which looks to empower Egypt’s thriving startup and business environment by laying emphasis on the best practices and governance in venture capital.
The symposium comprised ITIDA’s CEO Eng. Amr Mahfouz, USAID Egypt’s Director Ms. Leslie Reed, ITIDA’s VP Dr. Hossam Osman, Chief of Party of the EGA Mr. Hermann Thiel, and the Mr. President of AmCham Egypt, Mr. Tarek Tawfik.
In opening remarks, ITIDA CEO described entrepreneurship as a “key engine”. He went on to point out the increase in investments and deals – thus far collecting over 26% of total investments in the first half of 2021 (USD194M) going into the MENA region.
Several prominent startups including local and international VCs have attended symposiums such as Algebra Ventures, Flat6Labs, Shorooq, 500 Startups, Nile Capital, FinBi, and other entrepreneur and tech startup founders.
Several of the interactive sessions held during the symposium were chaired by field experts and other specialists. International VCs accounted for 32% of all startups invested in Egyptian startups as compared to21% in the UAE and 18% in the KSA.
MAGNiTT reveals that the number of VCs across Egypt has doubled in the past 3 years and is expected to double further. The number of deals being funded is on a 30% YoY – way higher than the 13% growth in venture investments across MENA.
Egypt is among the fastest-growing ecosystems across the Middle East and North Africa region in entrepreneurial activity. Mahfouz further pointed out how ITIDA plans to invest in Creativa, a digital innovation hub that acts as a one-stop shop for tech entrepreneurs.
ITIDA is currently working on a 5-year strategy in collaboration with USAID, a global consultancy firm, with the aim of taking Egyptian startups and entrepreneurship ecosystems in more advanced stages, particularly in the policy and regulation domain, finance capital regime, and market penetration elements.
