ACCELERATING THE FUTURE
Category: Events
StartEgypt Heads North; Launches Leading Entrepreneurship Initiative in Alexandria
After the successful launch of StartEgypt initiative in Cairo two years ago to push forward the most innovative cairene entrepreneurs, then in Assiut to be a hub for aspiring innovators from Upper Egypt, StartEgypt, proudly, launched in Alexandria to, yet again, help in the nourishment of the young minds who are seeking social impact through their ideas. The StartEgypt initiative is funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID); supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) a member of the World Bank Group; and powered by Flat6Labs.
With the launch of StartEgypt Alexandria and the eight new startups joining its first incubation cycle, we’ll see those new startups thrive to inspire, build, accelerate and have indefinite social impact in the environmental, healthcare, renewable energy, and educational industries.
The launch event of StartEgypt saw those startups pitching their ideas to a number of entrepreneurs, representatives from the British Embassy, and investors who are looking for the next big idea.
While the aforementioned startups target four important industries, StartEgypt Alex’s scope of industries is bigger, as it also includes marginalised communities, financial inclusion, agriculture, and transportation sectors whom are represented thoroughly through StartEgypt’s existence in different cities across Egypt.
Over the course of upcoming 15 weeks, the startups from StartEgypt Alex’s cycle one will be mentored, coached, and given different types of resources to develop their products/services and compete to earn two spots on the StartEgypt Forum day.
The forum will also host several other startups from StartEgypt Assiut (2 startups) and Cairo (10 startups). The winner on the Annual StartEgypt Forum day will get a chance at getting scouted and accelerated by the Flat6Labs Cairo team and a chance at receiving funding of up to $25k.
Official Press Conference: Match Group Acquires Harmonica as Flat6Labs Fully Exits
On the 4th of September, we bore witness to the official press conference of the acquisition of the matchmaking app Harmonica by the tech giant, Match Group; as well as, Flat6Labs full exit from the marriage app. Harmonica’s CEO, Sameh Saleh; Match Group’s CEO of EMEA & APAC, Alexandre Lubot; Flat6Labs’ Co-founder, Ahmed El Alfi; and Hona Al Shabab Presenter, Lamees El Hadidy, along with a number of other renowned investors, journalists, and supporters of the application were there to celebrate the occasion and talk about the future plans of Harmonica.
During the press conference, Sameh Saleh, CEO & Cofounder of Harmonica, highlighted that their belief “that every culture is unique on its own, is why we created the Harmonica App.” He also added that he is delighted to be part of the Match Group, which will eventually enable Harmonica’s team to further develop the application and expand beyond the bounds of Egypt, and even the MENA region. On another note, the matchmaking guru, said,
“I want to thank Flat6Labs because they believed in us and supported us since the very beginning.” — Sameh Saleh, CEO & Co-founder of Harmonica
Shortly afterwards, Alexandre Lubot, Match Group’s CEO of EMEA & APAC, said that “there is nothing more important to us than helping people find love,” and that through the acquisition of the conservative marriage app they are planning on expanding their reach to more MENA and South-East Asian countries.
The plans of expansion and this acquisition deal pay testament to the capabilities of the young Egyptian entrepreneurs, whom Lamees El Hadidy, Presenter of Hona Al Shabab thoroughly supports through her TV program.
“We should always talk about the future. We should always talk about our startups and the young founders we have,” Hadidy said.
Being one of the early supporters of Harmonica, especially after they ranked 2nd in Hona Al Shabab competition, Hadidy had few words to say about the progress they have made in only 18 months after the Flat6Labs Cairo acceleration period. She also highlighted the role that accelerators play in supporting this ecosystem, and stressed that
“Ahmed El Alfi, Flat6Labs’ Co-founder, role is very important in this ecosystem, and I commend him on continuing to provide space and support for entrepreneurs to innovate and scale.”
By the end of the press conference, El Alfi had a closing word to celebrate this milestone, and to congratulate the Flat6Labs, Harmonica, and Match Groups’ teams on coming this far. El Alfi’s belief in Egyptian startups is what got him and other Co-founders to kick off Sawari Ventures, then Flat6Labs Cairo. This belief is also restated in
“Ideas are open source, execution is proprietary,”
where he emphasised that Harmonica’s efforts, diligence and hard-work is what got them to the point where a $20bn company acquired them.
After El Alfi’s last words, the day concluded with a party that hosted all those who have taken part in this success and key players in the local and international startup ecosystem.
Flat6Labs Tunis Launches The Investor Academy With A New Wave of Investors in Tunisia
Flat6Labs Tunis organized last Thursday 8 August, in partnership with Attijari Sicar, B@Labs and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the “Investor Academy” program that will support the launch of a new wave of private investors in Tunisia, “Business Angels” — Individuals who invest their own funds in innovative companies, at a seed stage or at the beginning of their operations; and offer their skills, experience, as well as their network.
Several distinguished guests attended the event, including Mr. Marouan Abbassi, Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Ferid Belhaj, Vice President of the World Bank for the MENA region and Mr. George Joseph Ghorra, Resident Representative of the IFC in Tunisia, as well as Mr. Aly El Shalakany, Managing Director and Founder of Cairo Angels and Mr. Marcel Dridje, EBAN President and Founder of Sofia Business Angels.
Yehia Houry, Managing Director of Flat6Labs Tunis, emphasized that “This initiative comes from the fact that in order to grow, startups need several rounds of funding to develop. At the moment, Tunisia is trying to improve the environment of entrepreneurs and investors, especially through regulatory improvements such as the Startup Act. It is for all these reasons that the Investor Academy comes just in time to generate more investment opportunities.”
Several partners supported the initiative, including Attijari Sicar, which announced a new offer specifically dedicated to Business Angels. “To encourage this initiative, Attijari Sicar is committed to match the promise of investment between business angels and startups present at the event starting from tickets superior to 100K TND. And with this collaboration with business angels, we will create a trusting relationship between Startups, Business Angel and the Sicar”, said Mr Yasser Lourimi, General Manager of Attijari Sicar, a subsidiary of the Attijari Bank Group in Tunisia.
The event was also the occasion to announce the launch of the Maghreb Angel Investor Network, a network of Business Angels across the Maghreb region initiated by Mr. Noomane Fehri, Ex Minister of ICT and CEO and Co-Founder of B@Labs, who co-organized the event along with Flat6Labs.
The initiative was also supported by the IFC where Mr. Georges Ghorra, Resident Representative in Tunisia emphasized that “Tunisian entrepreneurs can further grow with a supportive ecosystem. Events such as the Investor Academy help strengthen the connections between entrepreneurs, creating space for further collaboration, learning and growth.”