Entalaq Releases Seminal Report on Egyptian Entrepreneurship: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Sector’s State and Future Opportunities
Yesterday, the company “Entalaq” for supporting entrepreneurship released the results of its semi-annual report on the Egyptian entrepreneurship sector. The report reflects the state of the entrepreneurship sector in Egypt and lays a foundation for a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by entrepreneurs and investors through qualitative (primary data) and quantitative (primary and secondary data) research methods.
The conference was attended by Hossam Heiba, Chairman of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Dr. Hossam Osman, Advisor to the Minister of Communications and Information Technology and President of the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) and Deputy CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Authority, Professor Ahmed Zayed, Egypt’s representative and Dean of the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group, and Abdelhamid Sharara, founder and CEO of Rise Up, along with Nelly Mahmoud, Director of Marketing at EG Bank. Additionally, a number of government officials, prominent figures in the Egyptian entrepreneurship sector, representatives of international and development organizations, and the private sector also attended.
The first edition of the report was created in partnership with several companies and entities supporting the Egyptian entrepreneurship sector, including EG Bank and Rise Up Summit as strategic partners for the report, TikTok as the main partner, and AUC Venture-Lab as the entrepreneurship sector partner, with EdVentures as the knowledge partner.
The report aims to provide the entrepreneurship sector with evidence-based methods that allow for a broader view of the sector, primarily through expanding the sector’s access to data to enhance decision-making processes and establish evidence-based channels to and from entrepreneurs, creating a dialogue platform among stakeholders in the sector. This contributes to the development of actionable policies based on data. Additionally, the report includes specific policy recommendations to accelerate the growth of the Egyptian entrepreneurship sector.
Mohamed Ehab, CEO of Entalaq, stated: “This report is a valuable resource for decision-makers, investors, and entrepreneurs, offering recommendations that contribute to the development of the Egyptian entrepreneurship sector. The report highlights key aspects of the Egyptian business environment, aiding decision-makers in adopting their strategic decisions based on evidence, thus creating an environment supportive of innovation and economic growth.”
Ehab added: “The launch of this report is part of Entalaq’s strategy aimed at enhancing Egypt’s transformation into a regional hub for entrepreneurship by creating an inclusive and influential environment that encourages creativity.”
Omar Rizk, co-founder and General Manager of Consulting at Entalaq, stated: “Preliminary research was conducted with more than 70 startups in Egypt, encompassing a range from small to large companies and various stages from early idea to growth and expansion phases. The research covered over 10 sectors to gain comprehensive insights.”
Rizk noted: “The performance assessment of the Egyptian entrepreneurship sector was based on eight axes: policy and government, social inclusion, access to finance, venture capital funding, ease of doing business, cross-border capital flows, private sector contribution, and development sector contribution. The overall evaluation for the Egyptian entrepreneurship sector was 2.93, indicating that it is a promising sector that meets expectations but requires additional policies and support to accelerate growth and achieve economic returns. Notably, the highest rating was for social inclusion, exceeding 2.73, reflecting a positive outlook for an environment that supports inclusion. However, challenges remain in increasing women’s representation and reaching all governorates. Access to financing ranked second with a score of 3.26, indicating a moderately positive perception, but challenges exist for small and medium-sized companies. The survey highlighted significant support for specific sectors such as artificial intelligence and health technology.”
Nelly Mahmoud, Director of Marketing at EG Bank, stated: “Entalaq is a starting point for fruitful partnerships and decisions in various fields, based on the clear vision outlined in the Entalaq report, which provides a comprehensive overview of the entrepreneurship landscape in Egypt. This clear vision will enable private sector entities, the official sector, and the government to take serious steps towards developing the entrepreneurship and startup sector and the field of innovation.”
She added: “EG Bank is very interested in supporting startups because as a bank, we were among the first in the private banking sector to move towards providing real and integrated support for youth skills, entrepreneurship, and startups through the platform launched by the bank seven years ago, known as Mint, through which we supported thousands of youth and hundreds of startups in Egypt in various fields, creating both direct and indirect job opportunities estimated at more than eleven thousand, contributing to the growth of social and financial inclusion indicators by supporting these companies, their employees, clients, and investors with efficient financial and digital services.”
Abdelhamid Sharara, founder and CEO of Rise Up, commented: “We are pleased to collaborate with Entalaq in presenting their first report, which documents the challenges and solutions facing startups. Monitoring such data is crucial, and we believe that cooperation between the private sector, universities, government, and startups is vital for advancing the sector, which will contribute to transforming the recommendations of this report into actionable programs.”
Farah Touqan, Director of Public Policy at TikTok for the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, and Pakistan, stated: “We are delighted at TikTok to be the main partner of Entalaq in its mission to support youth and entrepreneurs in Egypt. TikTok enhances individual creativity and considers it a top priority, as inclusion and active engagement on TikTok play a vital role in shaping and enhancing the general landscape of the creative economy, in addition to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises by spreading the talents of content creators and helping them reach a wider audience and enhance their growth in the digital space.”
It is worth mentioning that the first section of the report includes secondary data, providing an overview of the Egyptian business environment, starting with the Egyptian state’s profile, which gives an insight into the macroeconomic situation, population, unemployment, and the state’s developmental plans, in addition to the monetary and financial sectors and Egypt’s balance of payments transactions.
The file on the Egyptian entrepreneurship sector includes the most prominent figures and achievements of the sector, as well as key players in the entrepreneurship sector. The second section of the report, which includes qualitative (primary) data, was collected through surveys directed at startups and entities working in the sector, interviews, and comprehensive research on the ecosystem as a whole.
