Last February 12th, the Startups Without Borders Summit concluded its fourth edition in Cairo with 3,000 attendees from 30 different countries, over 130 speakers and 392 startups.
By SWB Team
The event took place last February 10-11, in partnership with Misr Italia Properties at Cairo Business park, where high-profile speakers, experts, and investors in the entrepreneurial and corporate ecosystems came to support and encourage entrepreneurs to grow and expand.
From investments, to talent, to creativity, key players in the startup ecosystem shared their insight. In “Creative Frontiers: The Intersection of Diversity, Multicultural Talent, and Cultural Edge,” the talent track was started by Jordanian singer Aziz Maraka, who talked about the importance of talent and diversity to improve, adding that “diversity is indispensable, although it can challenge the belief systems of some people.”
The summit hosted 460 meetings between investors and startups, and offered two remarkable opportunities for startups to pitch in two global competitions;“We Make Future” with 10 Egyptian and Middle Eastern startups competing against 5 Italian startups.
Notchnco from Egypt in the first place, followed up by Yalla Super App from Egypt, in the 3rd place: SkillGym from Italy, Talents Arena from Egypt in the 4th place, followed by Golee from Italy, and in the 6th place: AR Market from Italy.
And in the “Startup World Cup,” Palestinian startup Intella won first place and will compete in the finals at San Francisco in the biggest global competition for startups.
The second day of the summit included a number of exciting workshops, talks, and panel discussions, that tackled some crucial topics for startups such as: Talent, Future technology, investments, Impact and across borders and beyond. This besides highlighting the role of tech to move from ambition to action after COP27, by focusing on the Future Tech and smart cities, together with Cairo Business Park by Misr Italia Properties.
The panel discussions addressed some important issues such as the talent needed for the future of startups. “During the panel ‘Mapping the Talent for the Future: where to find the skills every startup will need in 2030’ what I noticed was how all of the panelists are pro remote work, and how we were aligned on the skills, values and principles needed for this talent generation to foster the culture of remote work whether as an employee or an employer. Also relating very much to ALX “CHAIR values:” Courage, Humility, Ambition, Initiative and Resilience. I was so glad to share our values and could help others to create their own,” said Mohamed El Moniem, General Manager ALX & The Room Egypt.
While tackling the topic of exits for startups, the summit hosted Mohammed Nagaty, the CEO of Exits, as a speaker, who expressed his happiness to join Startups Without Borders and his aspiration to participate in the coming edition.
The panel discussions also tackled the most important trends and opportunities for startups, including a panel titled “Why are super apps on the rise?”. Panelist Hesham El Feshawy, Co-Founder and CEO At MetaDoc, said: “Super apps help remedy issues such as limited internet connectivity and spotty infrastructure, which are common issues in emerging markets. Moreover, these markets are also typically characterized by a large, unbanked population, so having a single, comprehensive app that allows users to access quality healthcare affordably and use other payment services can be very beneficial.”
Valentina Primo, the founder and CEO of Startup without Borders Summit, expressed her excitement to be in the fourth edition of the summit that brings together 3,000 attendees and many speakers from around the world, 500 startups from different countries such as Lebanon, Palestine, and Italy, and investors from Singapore, UK, and The Netherlands in a meeting of global minds to build a borderless world.
The summit gathered over 90 community and content partners, and was sponsored by Misr Italia Properties, MSMEDA, Dahab Masr, ALX – The Room, AlexBank, CGC, UNDP, Meta Doc, and Schneider.
And Ahmed El Alfi, the Chairman of Sawari Ventures, talked in a session titled “Real estate and entrepreneurship: building communities beyond the walls” about the importance of supporting communities, and Michael Lints, partner at the Singapore-based VC firm Golden Gate Ventures, talked about how to invest in times of crises, in a series of investment panels created in partnership with MSMEDA. “Building bridges is the key factor of the moment to build and enhance ecosystems, working together, facilitating, supporting and sharing our strengths will lift our entrepreneurship ecosystem to a better status,” said Hany Emad, Director of SME & Investment, MSMEDA.
