The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) has participated in the opening ceremony of the seventh edition of Techne Summit 2021. The event focuses on technology and entrepreneurship and is held at Bibliotheca Alexandrina, on October 2-4, under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).
ITIDA engaged in a fireside chat titled "Tech Startups in Egypt: Enhancing Investment Appeal” during the opening ceremony. The session shed light on the ongoing efforts of MCIT and its affiliates to foster innovation-based entrepreneurship and support startups. Those efforts include establishing an Innovation Hub in every governorate to provide support and specialized training. The Hubs boast labs for emerging technologies, embedded systems, and electronics design, as well as business incubators and co-working spaces.
Moreover, it was highlighted that the number of trainees in different technology domains has doubled this year. ITIDA trained more than 65,000 people through the Future Work is Digital (EgyFWD) initiative, in the most in-demand technology tracks in the labor market, including data analysis, web development, and digital marketing.
During the session, it was pointed out that the Egyptian startups managed to attract investments worth $400 million in 2021 so far, reflecting the increased confidence of investors in the solutions and innovations developed by Egyptian entrepreneurs.
To boost the startup ecosystem and attract more global Venture Capital (VC) firms to Egypt, ITIDA organizes and sponsors global matchmaking events to bring investors together with startup founders. ITIDA also supports startups in international exhibitions such as Web Summit in Portugal and CES in Las Vegas to help startups promote their innovations and tech-enabled solutions and enhance their capability of creating partnerships and accessing foreign markets.
Furthermore, ITIDA seeks to find solutions to the challenges and obstacles facing startups in their early stages and to the hurdles impeding the injection of investments, without resorting to legislative amendments. In this regard, ITIDA cooperates with a working group that includes representatives from government and private agencies.
During the session, ITIDA advised the entrepreneurs to establish their startups as joint-stock companies since this is a better option for them than Limited Liability Companies (LLCs).
ITIDA, in addition, has developed a five-year strategy in cooperation with a global consulting firm to enhance Egypt's regional and international standing by encouraging and attracting more investment funds and VCs to the Egyptian market and helping local startups expand both locally and globally.
