The Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2020 has placed Cairo among the world’s top emerging ecosystems, providing a perfect environment for the establishment and growth of startups.
The report was issued by Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) during the online Ecosystems Couch Conference 2020, held in cooperation with Financial Times and The Next Web website.
The GSER is the world’s most comprehensive and widely-read research on startups, ranking the best regions for startups and tackling how regions can develop thriving startup ecosystems. It describes Cairo as a perfect test bed for innovation and an attractive market for scalability, referring to success stories of international startups, such as Amazon’s Souq and Uber’s Careem, thanks to the large customer market of 20 million young, and tech-savvy consumers.
Startup Genome, in collaboration with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), a Startup Genome network member, benchmarked Cairo's performance compared to 250 startups ecosystems globally. Cairo’s standing in the report comes among the top 10 global ecosystems for affordable talent in 2020 and among the top 10 ecosystem in funding, in Africa and the Middle East. The report referred to Cairo’s ecosystem that created USD 1.2 billion over the past two and a half years only; as well as its fintech and transport sectors, making the best performing in the Middle East and Africa.
With an expanding footprint, the 2020 GSER provides insights and guidance to public and private leaders about how to foster thriving startup ecosystems, particularly forwarding the conversation on how governments can support and leverage technology ecosystems to restart stalling economies recovering from the global Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) lockdown.
The report highlighted that Egypt attracted the largest number of investment deals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with fintech at the top. It highlighted, in addition, that the opportunity is immense in Egypt, with 95M mobile users (highest penetration in Europe, Middle East and Africa - EMEA), 14M wallets, a young population, and financial inclusion government-led initiatives. Transport came as the second strongest sector, witnessing the highest growth in startup investments across MENA, according to MAGNiTT’s investment latest report.
Startup Genome is a leader in consulting, guiding and supporting governments and leaders from both the governmental and private sectors. It aims to help startups grow and enhance the entrepreneurial performance worldwide. Startup Genome provides specialized reports and studies, based on data from over million companies in 250 cities around the world.
