Cairo, Egypt - Seedstars, a swiss-based company that brings together key stakeholders focused on driving technological change in emerging markets, will open their first hub in Egypt, Seedspace Cairo, this 4th of May 2018 at 5:00pm, in an inaugural event where different actors of the local ecosystem and international community will take part. It’s going to be the first Seedspace in the MENA region, consolidating more than 4 years of activities in the Egyptian startup ecosystem.

Promoting entrepreneurship as a lifestyle, Seedspace Cairo aims to continue supporting the entrepreneurship scene by offering the different actors a “home” from which Seedstars will deploy their different acceleration and academic programs, as well as be closer to Egyptian changemakers. Seedspace Cairo will have a coworking area, offering a wide range of membership plans, from single-desks areas to private offices for larger teams. Additionally, Seedspace Cairo will have a coliving area, an accommodation alternative for those wishing to come to Cairo and experience the efervescent entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“It is a strategic step for us at Seedstars, so that we can be closer to the community we have gathered over the last years, to continue supporting them 365 days throughout the year, with different activities, events and, of course, a great place from where businesses can be created, grown and scaled” stated Romulo Navarrete, Head of Operations at Seedspace.

The event will also play host to the Cairo chapter of Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets. Seedstars will be holding a dynamic pitch event to place the spotlight on 5 outstanding entrepreneurs, especially targeting solutions that align with UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The jury panel participating in selecting the winner of this edition consists of Noha Shaker, Head of Digital ventures and strategic alliance at CIB, Karim Hussein, Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures, Mohamed Assad, Venture Capital Associate at Averroes Ventures and Meghan Warner, Regional Manager of MENA at Seedstars. The event will also bring remarkable speakers including Yaseen Abdel-Ghaffar, Founder and Managing Director at SolarizEgypt, Mohamed Nabil, CEO at WideBot, Ahmed NeGm, Cofounder at Raye7 and Kennedy Kitheka, Managing Director of Seedstars Egypt.

Seedstars World is travelling to more than 65 countries to identify the most innovative seed-stage startups, awarding them the opportunity to win up to USD 1 million and connect with investors and mentors from around the world at the global Seedstars Summit in Switzerland. Its previous participants have raised over USD 61M collectively, providing employment to more than 800 employees worldwide.

The startups selected to pitch at the Seedstars Cairo event need to be less than 2 years old, have raised less than USD 500,000 in funding, built a minimum viable product, ideally with existing traction and has the potential for regional and global scalability. With a strong network of international partners, such as BBVA, Merck and Enel, Seedstars is looking for smart startups that tackle regional issues and develop profitable and sustainable products for the global market, to support their regional businesses and growth.

Currently, Seedspace has seven hubs: two in Geneva, Switzerland (La Chevillarde and La Praille); one in Lagos, Nigeria; another one in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; one in Cape Town, South Africa; two in Colombia (Bogota and Medellin), and with the opening of Seedspace Cairo Seedstars continue its expansion strategy.

“We aim to have 15 hubs around the world by the end of 2018.” continues Romulo Navarrete, “This expansion is pivotal so that we can bring more impact to local ecosystems while interconnecting the different locations, creating access to an international community of entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and corporates interested in innovation”.

For further enquiries on engaging with Seedspace Cairo, interested parties can write to cairo@seedstars.com. Press enquiries should be directed to meghan@seedstars.com.

ABOUT SEEDSTARS
"They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds." - Mexican proverb

Seedstars is a Swiss based group with the mission to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through technology and entrepreneurship. Seedstars connects stakeholders, builds companies from scratch with public and private partners and invests in high growth startups within these ecosystems. Through different activities, that range from startup scouting to company building and acceleration programs, the team has built the most powerful network of entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, corporations and government officials from 65+ fast growing economies around the globe. Seedstars group includes Seedstars World, a worldwide startup competition, sourcing the top talent in technology and entrepreneurship in emerging markets; Seedstars Growth Program, a three month virtual acceleration program; Seedspace, a network of coworking and co-living spaces and Seedstars Academy, a six months intensive training for aspiring local entrepreneurs on how to build sustainable businesses. Some of Seedstars main partners are Enel (Energy), School of Management Fribourg (HEG Fribourg) & TRECC - Transforming Education in Cocoa Communities (Education), BBVA (Finance), Tag Heuer (Fempreneurship and Innovation) and Merck KGaA (Health).

Press Contact:
High-resolution photos, logos, as well as press information and interview options are available on demand.

Meghan Warner
Regional Manager MENA
meghan@seedstars.com

© Press Release 2018