Alexandria, Egypt, October 5, 2024: The 10th edition of the Techne Summit kicked off at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the leading investment and entrepreneurship event in the Mediterranean region, running from October 5 to 8. The event attracted a large crowd of attendees, entrepreneurs, investors, and technology experts. This exceptional edition is themed “10 Years of Creative Minds Coming Together,” marking a decade of achievements that have supported innovation, entrepreneurship, and the exchange of expertise in the Arab region, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean Basin.
The first day included opening speeches from Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology; H.E. Håkan Emsgård, Swedish Ambassador in Cairo; Mr. Tarek El-Kady, Founder of the Techne Summit; and Mr. Mohamed Al-Dallal, Co-founder and Board Member of the Summit, attended by a distinguished group of local, regional, and international officials. Following the opening remarks, the Minister toured the exhibitors at the summit, exploring key innovations presented by startups and major institutions. This year’s edition is organized in collaboration with the Ministries of Communications and Information Technology and Youth and Sports, along with sponsorship from several organizations, including ITIDA, the General Division for Digital Economy and Technology (DETGD), the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), and various platinum, gold, and silver sponsors, including the Swedish Embassy in Cairo and the main organizer, Markid.
In his opening speech, Dr. Amr Talaat praised the continuous growth of the Techne Summit and the increasing number of participating entrepreneurs, reflecting the strong and growing awareness of the importance of entrepreneurship and the potential to build a successful career through it. He congratulated the organizers on the 10th anniversary of the summit and expressed his hopes to hold events in all governorates. He confirmed the expansion of establishing “Digital Egypt Youth” centers in the governorates to support entrepreneurs in the communications and IT sectors, noting that 23 centers have been completed and more are underway, aiming for one center in each governorate by 2025. The second generation of these centers will focus on establishing specialized incubators targeting specific fields within communications and IT to support startups and SMEs.
Engineer Tarek El-Kady, Founder of the Techne Summit, stated, “Today we celebrate 10 years of creative minds meeting and fruitful collaboration that has supported entrepreneurs and startups through the Techne Summit in Alexandria, which started as a small gathering of 50 people and has transformed into a global event attracting over 40,000 participants from entrepreneurs, experts, and innovators worldwide.” He added, “This accelerating growth year after year reflects the increasing enthusiasm among Arab youth for creativity and innovation and indicates the growing confidence in the region’s ability to become a global center for technology and entrepreneurship. Seeing this large crowd of creative minds gathered in one place to exchange ideas and knowledge fills me with optimism for the future of Egypt and the region.”
In this regard, Mr. Mohamed Al-Dallal, Co-founder and Board Member of the Techne Summit, said, “Ideas are the driving force behind change. At the Techne Summit, we strive to build a community of creative minds capable of changing the world with their ideas. We are proud to have helped turn the ideas of many entrepreneurs into tangible realities and to have sparked their passion for creativity and innovation.” He added, “Over the past 10 years, many prominent names in the business world have embarked on their success journeys, and we will continue to provide the ideal environment for nurturing new generations of innovators, adding value to the Egyptian economy.”
It is worth noting that the ninth edition of the Techne Summit in Alexandria witnessed a significant increase in participants, hosting over 35,000 attendees, more than 1,000 startups, 400 speakers, 250 investors, 180 exhibitors, and 200 investors from 70 countries. This reflects the pivotal role the summit plays in supporting the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the region since its first event in 2015.
