Egypt keeps top place in MENA for funding deals – ITIDA
Egypt kept its top place in the MENA region for funding and venture deals in the first quarter of 2020, according to a statement issued on Sunday by the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA).
UAE-data platform MAGNiTT’s recent report noted that Egypt’s market saw 37 percent of deals in the region made in Q1 of 2020, Ahram Online reported on Sunday.
Total funds headed to start-ups in MENA rose by 2 percent compared to the same quarter of 2019, bringing the total fund to $277 million over 108 start-ups, according the statement.
MAGNiTT Intelligence also published a report about Egypt’s start-up ecosystem, noting that Egypt has become the best market in MENA in this regard thanks to governmental and private initiatives.
The report cited the Central Bank of Egypt’s 100 billion pounds initiative to invest in the fine-tech sector, the Commercial International Bank’s initiative to found the first venture capital enterprise that adopts fine-tech solutions, and the recent partnership between StarupBootcamp and Pride Capital Fund to launch the StartupBootcamp Fine-tech program in Egypt.
On the other hand, Egypt placed first for the nationality of start-up founders with 25 percent, followed by Jordan, India, and Lebanon respectively, according Wamda’s recent report.
Wamda is an online platform which focuses on accelerating and enhancing start-up incubations in the MENA region.
Executive manager of ITIDA Hala El-Gohary said ITIDA targets enhancing Egypt’s position in entrepreneurship and innovation globally through doubling the number of enterprises in the sector and cutting further domestic, regional and international deals in order to stimulate investing in start-ups as well as attracting funds and capital for them, according the statement.
