GEN Egypt/MCSBE awards winners of Everybody Can contest for entrepreneurs

By Amwal Al Ghad English On Aug 1, 2019

iHelp, who won the first position, at the GEN Egypt/MCSBE's contest in Alexandria, Egypt

GEN Egypt/MCSBE Foundation has awarded three entrepreneurial teams on ideas that support disable citizens, so-called people of determination.

The ceremony took place at the Arab Academy for Science Technology and Maritime Transport’s (AASTMT) headquarters in Alexandria, whereas the U.S. and Dutch embassies in Cairo coordinated in hosting the event.

It witnessed the participation of 9 teams of entrepreneurs who provided innovative ideas to serve people of determination. The contest remarked GEN Egypt/MCSBE’s commitment to boosting entrepreneurial ecosystem through supporting innovative entrepreneurs all walks of life.

Three teams were announced as winners, involving ihelp in the first position, Electronic Light Blind Stick the second, and Driver Simulator Game the third. The winners offered a variety of ideas for people of determination, who are interested in launching their own start-ups as well as solutions to handle any challenges they might face.

ihelp, Electronic Light Blind Stick, and Driver Simulator Game were awarded EGP 100,000, EGP 50,000, and EGP 40,000 respectively. The financial awards aim to finance their projects and help them develop their ideas as pursuant to the market’s demands.

GEN Egypt/MCSBE said the selection of the winning ideas was based upon a number of key standards, including the applicability to real life and the quality of the working plan.

iHelp app is an online platform where people with disability and elderly people can search for service or information and request and find it easily in few steps with easier access, fair price, and trusted quality. Meanwhile, Electronic Light Blind Stick offers the help an electronic stick for the visually impaired while moving. As for Driver Simulator Game, it is the first driver simulator interactive car racing game available in Arabic Language for the visually impaired.

The ceremony was attended by Hesham Yousry, Project Coordinator at GEN Egypt/MCSBE; Wael El Desouki, Director of Center of Entrepreneurship at AASTMT; and Rami Essam, Strategy and Planning Director at Careem Alexandria.

Among the attendees were also Sally Brussam and Louise Martins, representatives from Netherlands Embassy in Egypt; and Michel Angolo, a representative from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

The contest was the outcome of a fruitful cooperation with a number of strategic partners, mainly the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Cairo, and AASTMT in Alexandria, which hosted the finals of the contest, GEN Egypt/MCSBE added.

Strategic partners are fully aware of the importance of the entrepreneurial community in Egypt. The event gave the opportunity for professional entrepreneurs to exchange experiences, the foundation added.

GEN Egypt/MCSBE is founded in 2008 as an affiliate of the Global Entrepreneurship Network as well as the Middle East affiliate of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB).