Egyptian venture capital firm Innoventures, in partnership with Suez University and The Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT), announced the official kick-off of Startup Reactor in Suez. This is part of “INTILAC”; a nation-wide startup incubation program undertaken by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology.
Startup Reactor is a 6-month entrepreneurship program that aims to expand across Egypt to foster and accelerate innovative startups with high growth potential in emerging tech industries. Companies that qualify for Startup Reactor receive extensive training on business development and seed funding, along with branding, legal and financial support for their startup. Startup Reactor entrepreneurs gain access to an expert network of over 100 mentors to provide advice and guidance.
Ever since its inception in 1972, the ASRT has been supporting the community of science, technology and innovation in the country, which is why ASRT launched “INTILAC” to target creators, innovators, inventors, senior Egyptian university students and aspiring entrepreneurs. “INTILAC” provides the financial, technical and operational assistance for research-based startups to turn their ideas to competitive products and services that are capable of boosting the national economy and standard of living through partnering with educational institutions and expert organizations in the field.
“Most of the resources available for entrepreneurs in Egypt are limited to Cairo, while there is a lot of untapped potential throughout the governates. We’re excited to be a leader in the expansion of the geographical reach of the entrepreneurship network and to provide rising startups in different locations the chance to receive guidance and funding,” said Hesham Wahby, CEO of Innoventures.
When reached for comment, Dr. Mahmoud Saqr, President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT), signified that through establishing similar partnerships all across the country, the academy aims to encourage and support Egyptian youth in transforming their ideas to a reality, which is in line with the national interest in entrepreneurship and supporting youth-run initiatives and the growing national support for scientific research and development.
In addition, Dr. Al Sayed Al Sharkawy, the President of the Suez University, highlighted that this program will allow the University to provide a place for entrepreneurs in the area where they not only can create and innovate but also receive hands-on mentoring and business coaching that allows their projects to advance and increases levels of local production and manufacturing, thus directly benefiting the Egyptian Economy.
The companies in Suez will have access to the full Startup Reactor benefits. Startup Reactor will launch in Suez as a part of INTILAC, supported by ASRT and in partnership with Suez University, the main partner for Innoventures in Suez.
The first round of Startup Reactor in Suez will launch in July of 2018 and will be based in Ideaspace SUEZ, the local hub for Innovation. Interested entrepreneurs can find out how to join through innoventures.me/reactor .