Internet accessibility drives down newspaper sales in Egypt. New marketplace brings Egyptian manufacturing online. A cotton worker is pictured along a street in the old part of Cairo, Nov. 27, 2010.
Collaboration Drives Digital Technology Innovation in Egypt – Voice and Viewpoint. By Dr.
Hossam Osman, CEO of the Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center When technology or entrepreneurship articles are written about the next “Silicon X”, Egypt is always on the list. Cairo's mobile valeting service. Residents of Cairo have found ways of beating the congestion which characterizes their city, home delivery services.
From food, coffee to even medical services, residents are increasingly ordering goods and services – from their sofas. The new addition is a mobile car valeting service. The company was founded by a former finance manager Mohamed Hamdy who said he spotted a gap in the market which lead him to set up his home valet service. Egypt gains momentum in ICT outsourcing. Silicon21 considers expansion in African markets. Africa Together Initiative Strengthens Egypt’s Position as Regional ICT Services Hub. As a part of the country’s efforts to increase IT exports and achieve ambitious economic goals, Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) helped set out a number of partnership protocols and concluding business agreements between Egyptian companies and 17 leading African telecom companies, financial institutions and ICT enterprises, in six different African countries, in the framework of “Africa Together” programme, Round II.
The programme reflects the government’s commitment to accelerate economic growth by expanding the export footprint of its domestic enterprises and help them penetrate different regions in this fast growing continent. Collaborating for growth. Flat6Labs join Barclays bank to invest in Egyptian businesses. Flat6Labs stated that they will offer selected startups up to EGP150,000 (US$17,000) in funding as well as 14 weeks of mentorship, coaching and support.
The 1864accelerator happens to be the very first of its kind, local fintech-focused startup accelerator program in Egypt that aims at enabling entrepreneurs transform their ideas into lucrative business solutions. This program is looking for startups with any ideas related to financial services, including payments, digital banking solutions, machine learning, trading data analytic, insurance, cyber security, asset management, data analytic, lending, banking relationships, etc.
Startups can apply and fill out a form via the F6S portal. The application window will be open for 2 months, and the team will screen applicants for the next stage of selection.A local Fintech Hackathon will be organized, and will be a key event in introducing and promoting 1864’s first cycle. Fixawy launches smart phone app to bring technicians to your doorstep. Founder of the website and mobile application Fixawy, Amr Ibrahim, said the service provides a list of technicians and specialists that make it easy for users to look up and contact craftsmen.
Ibrahim explained that Fixawy has a list of eight main industries, including electricity, plumbing, carpentry, tile setting, and brickwork ceramics. He noted that the service aims to expand and add further crafts to include the maintenance of electrical appliances and air condition units by next August. Regular Uber not fancy enough for you? UberSELECT launches in Cairo. The app-based ride-hailing company Uber has announced the Cairo launch of its “Select” service, which allows users to opt for a newer car and higher-rated driver in exchange for a slightly steeper fare.
The base fare for the service starts at LE5, with a minimum fare of LE15 per trip. Riders will be charged LE0.30 per minute and LE1.40 per km. The company’s basic service, UberX — which has been operating in Cairo since November 2014 — has a base fare of LE3 and a minimum of LE10, with charges of LE0.20 per minute and LE1.30 per km. Egypt: Digital hub to help Africa track and control disease outbreaks. A new disease control hub is set to be launched in Egypt.
(Image Source: wikimedia.org). Egyptian start-up offers online support to new mothers. Egyptian ICT industry 2015. Sun rises on Egypt's Silicon Valley. The Middle East has long been searching for its own Silicon Valley, but it’s been searching for the wrong ecosystem under the wrong name.
‘Sun City’ in Egypt might be MENA’s Palo Alto as the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis is a hub for a rising semiconductor industry that has been quietly building for the last 10 years. Importantly, the aims of those in the sector are not to mimic its famous counterpart in Palo Alto but to be their own foundation of a high tech electronics industry in Egypt. If it’s successful, it could have major ramifications for entrepreneurs and startup ecosystems throughout the region, churning out at home – and enticing back from the US – the kind of highly experienced engineers who were the founders of America’s tech industry. Quiet wins The semiconductor industry is arguably Egypt’s most cohesive and global-facing tech startup sector.
Food delivery startup hellofood acquires Egyptian rival Otlob. Online food delivery startup hellofood, which is present in almost 40 countries worldwide, has acquired Otlob, its major competitor in Egypt, from previous owner A15.
Only 2% of total individual payments paid electronically in Egypt. Total individual payments in Egypt amount to approximately $163bn, only 2% of which is paid electronically, with about 1% by cheques, and the rest in cash, Tarek Al-Husseini, Visa’s regional manager for North and West Africa, told Daily News Egypt. He expects that individual electronic payments in Egypt will reach 20% within five to seven years, as long as the Egyptian government offers support and launches programmes and helps by paying the civil servants’ salaries using payroll cards. Visa Inc. recently signed a cooperation protocol with the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI) to spread the culture of electronic payments of government salaries. 21 apps you have to download if you live in Egypt. Living in any country requires a helpful guide to show you where to go and not to go, what events to attend, how to get around and how to stay two steps ahead of the traffic.
In our modern digital age, technology is the perfect guide. If you are living in Egypt, these 21 mobile apps will save you time, keep you connected and make your life easier in the process. 1. New marketplace brings Egyptian manufacturing online. Egyptian tech firms expand footprint in Africa. The Africa Together programme is aimed at supporting the export of IT business and products from Egypt. (Image source: UniversityofSalfordPressOffice/Flickr) The agreements were signed under the aegis of the Africa Together programme, in a bid to increase IT exports from Egypt.
The programme, which connects Egyptian companies with 17 leading African telecom companies, financial institutions and ICT enterprises, reflects the government’s commitment to accelerate economic growth by expanding the export footprint of its domestic enterprises and help them penetrate different regions in the continent. Egypt's Sisi scores early success with smart cards for bread subsidies. By Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - The successful roll-out so far of a new "smart card" system to distribute subsidized bread has been a major achievement for Egypt's government, saving money while earning praise from families who no longer have to wake early to fight for loaves.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi appears to be succeeding where predecessors Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Mursi both failed in the delicate task of reforming a system that has drained the state's finances while angering the population. While the government still has a long way to go to roll out the new system countrywide, success so far marks an important civilian achievement for the president, a former army chief mainly known for security issues, including a harsh crackdown against Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood followers.
Egyptian exports of cross-border services via Internet worth $1.5bn by end of 2012. Egyptian exports of cross-border services via the Internet were worth $1.5bn by the end of 2012, according to research by the Fletcher School at Tufts University in collaboration with MasterCard and DataCash. (AFP File Photo) By Shaimaa Elise. 46.2 million local internet users by end of August 2014. Egypt to witness huge growth in electronic payments in next 5 years: EMP chairman, Actis partner. Online employment platform Nabbesh targets Egyptian youth: Company official. The online hiring platform sees “massive” opportunity in Egypt and hopes to match entrepreneurs with freelancing youth seeking jobs(Photo Courtesy of Nabbesh) Dubai based marketplace website Nabbesh has participated in the American University in Cairo’s seventh MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition Award Ceremony, which took place at the university’s campus on 22 May to encourage entrepreneurship and job creation in the country.