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RiseUp19 Summit Driving MENA’s Entrepreneurship Growth Journey

4 years 3 months ago

Riseup19 summit concludes with  Over 8200 attendees, 56 countries, 290 participating start-ups, 400 investors, over 300 speakers

DAFZA announced USD 15,000 Prizes for the Dubai Commercity Hackathon

Talks by Samih Sawiris, Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) Mohamed Farid Saleh, Amr Salama & Raya Abi Rached

RiseUp Summit 2019, MENA’s leading entrepreneurship event, has come to a close at the American University in Cairo (AUC) New Cairo Campus after three days of dynamic sessions, talks, pitch competitions, and networking, revolving around the theme #JourneytoGrowth. Collectively and throughout the three days, RiseUp Summit 2019 hosted 8200 attendees, 290 startups, 200 workshops, 400 investors and 300 speakers.

Fawry’s IPO story in discussion with EGX Chairman Mohamed Farid Saleh

Cofounder and Managing Director of Fawry Mohamed Okasha sat down with Executive Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) Mohamed Farid Saleh to talk about Fawry’s journey to its initial public offering (IPO), covering the perspective of the public entity and that of the private sector company.

Giving an account of Fawry’s #JourneytoGrowth, Okasha explained: When Mr. Mohamed Farid Saleh’s team from the EGX contacted us, we had not considered an IPO. But after several discussions, we convinced our shareholders that this would be the right move for Fawry’s next phase of growth. The three key drivers behind being listed were getting a fair valuation for the company, giving investors freedom to liquidate and the very high level of transparency to investors that comes with being a listed company.”

Commenting on what the EGX can offer small and medium enterprises and startups, Saleh said: “We have realized that there is a lack of awareness among SMEs and start-ups around the financial markets and how an IPO can create greater value to investors and founders. Fawry has set a great example in the local market, and we encourage other businesses to educate themselves about the journey to an IPO because it really is one of the most cost effective ways to raise. The NileEx gives opportunities to companies with a capital of up to EGP 1 million, and then they go through the journey of growth until their capital exceeds EGP 100 million. There is a clear potential of how the financial markets can offer companies a significant leap in income over the years.” 

Samih Sawiris’ #JourneytoGrowth

One of the highlights of Day 3 was a fireside chat with Founder of Orascom Holding AD Samih Sawiris. Moderated by Founding Partner of Acumen Consulting Sandra Farid, Sawiris talked about his career journey with Orascom Holding AD, saying “Thirty years ago I started in development and long-term investments, and it took a lot of effort and time, as I started from scratch. You must know it is a long journey that needs a lot of patience. In the past it was even a harder venture for a young person to launch his or her startup. But now, it might take a couple of years with a lot of effort and the right team for the idea to turn into a multi-million dollar project. Young people nowadays are lucky; it is much easier now,” 

He also announced the launch of Startup Hub in Gouna, “and we are working now on expanding it to accommodate more startups,” added Sawiris. 

The creative corner, featuring Raya Abirached and Amr Salama

The creative track at RiseUp Summit 2019 was star-studded with the presence of TV Personality Raya Abirached and Film Director Amr Salama. 

The fireside chat entitled “The Scoop with Raya - RiseUp Edition” saw Abirached taking the audience through her 10-year #JourneytoGrowth, giving an account of what it took her to succeed in today's fast-paced media industry. Raya commented on this year’s theme saying “It is very important to underline that every career has a journey and if it doesn't, then it is not a career, if you don't believe you can grow, you are never going to go anywhere, my motto in life is that you have to earn it, I believe in it and I stand by it every time so it is a great theme”

Earlier in the day, Executive Director at Mentor Arabia Thuraya Ismail and Mohamed El Bassiouni, Co-founder and managing Director of Tayrah talked to Salama about youth awareness in the digital film era. Where Amr said “I think the distinction between digital movies and traditional is starting to disappear, as audience nowadays are witnessing more experiences through TV, Cinema or the internet. I believe in a short time the word will lose its meaning because entertainment will only be digital. Commenting on the availability of enough platforms and initiatives for Arab youth who want to tap into the filmmaking industry “We saw a lot of success stories because of the internet, so if they own a phone, a laptop and have internet access, then they have no excuse,”

More Launchpad announcements

During the summit Rami Al-Qawasmi, cofounder and  CEO of Mawdoo3, announced their acquisition of SuperMama the leading women platform with total 5M unique women visites from the Arabworld 

Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA) announced the 3 winners of the ecommerce hackathon, the first in-summit hackathon powered by Dubai Commercity. World Market, the e-commerce search engine that saves users the hard work of searching many websites to find the perfect product, came in 1st place and won 7000 USD. TNT, a plugin for e-commerce website to give access for visually impaired people to experience online shopping like anyone, came in 2nd place and won 5000 USD. And Markazi, the one-stop-shop for home improvement materials aiming to help home owners and professionals to find, choose and use home improvement materials with ease and convenience came in 3rd place winning 3000 USD.

USAID announced the launch of “TIYE Angels”, the Women’s angel investment network, in partnership with Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC), UNDP, and Malaikah Angels. The new investment network aims at providing women who are interested in investment with training and providing women-lead startups with mentors, investment and training.

RiseUp Summit 2019 convened from December 5-7, hosting four main stages: Tech, Capital, Creative and Growth. The seven tracks that the content focuses on are Creative Culture, Creative Economies, Smart Capital, Growth Hacks, Emerging Tech, FinTech and Tech 4 Humans. The Summit will be followed by the regional Pitch by the Pyramids competition, in which 15 startups from MENA will pitch for various prizes.

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