Changelabs Launches Egypt’s 1st ‘Green’ Scale-Up Accelerator in partnership with leading European investment fund

Impact-centered accelerator Changelabs, one of the top 10 accelerators in the Middle East, announced today the launch of its leading “Scale Up To Green'' accelerator targeting top Egyptian resource efficiency, green energy, and agritech companies. The program is being launched in partnership with the Green for Growth Fund (GGF), which is a Euro 600m+ investment fund, supported by the European Union under its EU4Energy initiative. The fund channels financing toward initiatives that expand renewable energy, increase energy efficiency, and reduce the use of natural resources. The program will also count Amazon Web Services (AWS), and MINT by EGBank as partners. This accelerator will offer SMEs and scale ups unparalleled access to the resources they need to scale, acquire more customers, build the right long-term partnerships, and raise additional rounds of funding.

The program will admit and work closely with 15 leading Egyptian post-revenue scale-ups by mid 2021. Each admitted startup will be considered for additional support by the GGF Technical Assistance Facility for future collaborations , gain access to technology and design  services,  product build-out support, and a day to day hands on operating partner for 6 months that will help scale their business with them - a first in the MENA region.

“While the Egyptian ecosystem is one of the most robust in the MENA region, and accelerators and VCs are everywhere, there’s a huge gap in the scale-up and operating segments of the startup support menu - we aim to bring together the right stakeholders to fill that gap, in Egypt and beyond” says Karim Samra, CEO & founder of Changelabs. He adds, “Simultaneously, organic farming, clean energy, efficient buildings, agriculture, and access to water are all priorities.”

The program’s focus on key sustainability outcomes is  particularly  suited  to  the  Egyptian market, as the country is undergoing a Green  Energy  and  Resource  Efficiency  renaissance, spurred by local  constraints  and  pressure  exerted  by double digit population growth coupled with global demand as reflected in competitive export markets.

“We are thrilled to partner up with Changelabs to launch the first Green Scale-Up Accelerator in the region. MINT by EGBANK’s long-term strategy and vision is to empower young entrepreneurs with the needed tools and technical support considered crucial for their business’ growth. We understand that the Egyptian Scale-up Ecosystem is underserved and has lots of potential therefore we, at MINT by EGBANK, are committed to play an effective role as a real contributor to the ecosystem in the various crucial arenas including green energy and green economy.” Says Nelly Mahmoud, Chief Communication Officer & Head of Youth Beyond Banking & Financial Inclusion at EGBANK.

The program’s design and structure are in the final stages. SMEs and scale ups across Egypt are now invited to apply to the program through Changelabs’ website (changelabsme.org) and will be considered on a rolling basis through Q2 of 2021.