Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, was present at the signing of an agreement between the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Plug and Play, a global leader in startup enablement. The goal is to form a strategic collaboration that will help Egypt’s entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem expand.
The partnership aims to establish a thriving startup community at the Creativa Innovation Hub in Cairo’s Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace and establish Egypt as the region’s foremost location for innovation-driven entrepreneurship. The deal was signed by ITIDA CEO Amr Mahfouz and Plug and Play CEO and Founder Saeed Amidi.
The ICT Minister stated of the agreement, “We’re keen to promote entrepreneurship and foster tech- and innovation-driven projects.” In view of Egypt’s regional and global triumphs and advances in this field, MCIT is working to provide an enabling environment for the growth of startups as part of the goal to construct Digital Egypt.
Talaat further said that the arrangement would help MCIT’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship by collaborating with one of the nation’s leading startups incubation and acceleration firms. MCIT is also building Creativa Innovation Hubs across the country to foster entrepreneurship and empower university students and entrepreneurs by strengthening their innovation skills and supporting their ICT initiatives, he added.
Plug and Play is one of the world’s leaders in managing innovation centres, according to ITIDA’s CEO. He went on to say that the Company’s presence in Egypt would benefit the startup environment, resulting in favorable regional and international news.
Plug and Play is one of the world’s leading companies in managing innovation centers, according to ITIDA CEO Eng. Amr Mahfouz, and its presence in Egypt will add value to the startup ecosystem and positively reflect on regional and international reports.
According to Mahfouz, Egypt’s global position is expected to improve this year as a result of the booming entrepreneurship scene and the year-on-year increase in investments in Egyptian startups, as well as the government’s massive investment in spreading digital innovation hubs across the country, building digital and freelancing skills, fostering tech innovation, and assisting start-ups in their growth.
Saeed Amidi, Plug and Play Founder and CEO said: “We are excited about launching our office in Egypt and we want to thank the Minister of Communications and Information Technology for his support on this journey as we are looking forward to accelerating and incubating Egyptian startups.”
Plug and Play is one of the leading innovation-enablement platforms in the world, serving as a link between Silicon Valley and 35+ sites across the world.
Sobhan Khani, Plug and Play VP remarked: “The projection is Egypt’s economy will be one of the top 10 economies in the world by 2030, the talent and entrepreneur culture in Egypt makes this an incredible opportunity for us to establish this office with help of ITIDA. We are extremely excited about this launch.”
The three-year agreement calls for the establishment of a startup innovation platform in Cairo, with an emphasis on digital transformation. A program to accelerate 60 growth-stage firms and incubate 60 early-stage startups will be launched. The partnership aims to bring $20 million in funding to the beneficiary technology businesses while also creating 500 jobs.
Sherine El-Guindy, Assistant ICT Minister for Strategy and Implementation; Hossam Osman, Advisor to the ICT Minister for Technology Innovation, Electronics Industry, and Training; Egypt Post Secretary-General Ahmed Mansour; and Egypt Post Vice-Chairman Ehab Abu Bakr attended the signing event.
A national plan to turn selected historic heritage sites into young innovation hubs includes establishing a Creativa Innovation Hub at Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace. The project is also part of MCIT’s plan to create digital Innovation Hubs around Egypt to encourage technological innovation and entrepreneurship. The Palace is being converted into an innovation center while maintaining its architectural and cultural significance. The Hub will house IT giants’ laboratories, emerging technology facilities, startup incubators, training halls, meeting rooms, and co-working spaces, among other things.
