CAIRO - 23 September 2021: The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has witnessed the signing of an agreement between the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Plug and Play, a worldwide leading company in enabling startups. The aim is to establish a strategic partnership to boost Egypt’s entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem.
The agreement targets creating a vibrant startup community at the Creativa Innovation Hub in Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace in Cairo and cement Egypt as the premier center for innovation-driven entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. ITIDA CEO Amr Mahfouz and Plug and Play CEO and Founder Saeed Amidi signed the agreement.
Commenting on the agreement, the ICT Minister said: “We’re keen to promote entrepreneurship and foster tech- and innovation-driven projects”. MCIT endeavors to create an enabling environment for the growth of startups as part of the plan of building Digital Egypt and in light of Egypt's successes and progress in this field at the regional and global levels.
Talaat added that the agreement would reinforce MCIT efforts in advancing entrepreneurship through partnering with one of the major companies specializing in startup incubation and acceleration. In addition, he said that MCIT is establishing Creativa Innovation Hubs nationwide to promote entrepreneurship and empower university students and entrepreneurs through developing their innovation skills and supporting their ICT projects.
ITIDA CEO emphasized that Plug and Play is one of the world's leaders in managing innovation hubs. He added that the Company's presence in Egypt would add value to the startup ecosystem, thus positively reflecting on regional and international reports.
ITIDA CEO, Eng. Amr Mahfouz emphasized that Plug and Play is one of the world's leading companies in managing innovation centers, and its presence in Egypt will add value to the startup ecosystem and will positively reflect on regional and international reports.
Mahfouz clarified that Egypt’s global position is expected to advance this year thanks to the boom in the entrepreneurship scene and the surge of investments in Egyptian startups YoY, in addition to the huge investment by the government in spreading digital innovation hubs across the country and in building digital and freelancing skills and fostering tech innovation and helping start-ups to grow.
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 works as a bridge between Silicon Valley and 35+ locations around the world and is one of the top innovation-enablement platforms worldwide.
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 involves launching an innovation platform for startups in Cairo, with focusing on digital transformation. A program will be launched for accelerating 60 growth-stage startups and incubating 60 early-stage startups. The agreement aspires to attract $20 million-worth investments in the beneficiary technology startups while creating 500 job opportunities.
The signing ceremony was attended by the Assistant ICT Minister for Strategy and Implementation Sherine El-Guindy; the Advisor to the ICT Minister for Technology Innovation, Electronics Industry and Training Hossam Osman; Egypt Post Secretary-General Ahmed Mansour; and Egypt Post Vice-Chairman Ehab Abu Bakr.
Establishing a Creativa Innovation Hub at Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace is part of a national plan to transform some cultural heritage buildings into youth innovation hubs. The project is also part of MCIT strategy to establish digital Innovation Hubs across Egypt to promote technology innovation and entrepreneurship. The Palace is being transformed into an innovation hub while preserving its architectural character and cultural value. The Hub will include laboratories of tech giants, emerging technologies facilities, startup incubators, training halls, meeting rooms, and co-working spaces.
Based in Silicon Valley, California, US, Plug and Play is one of the world's most prominent investors in early-stage startups; it has invested in almost 1,000 startups. The Company is also one of the top innovation-enablement platforms worldwide, with around 40 offices in 19 countries. Plug and Play adopts a unique business model that involves fostering and boosting innovation through establishing sustainable partnerships between big businesses and startups.
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