Egypt has the fastest-growing entrepreneurship ecosystem in the MENA region, according to a Magnitt report seen by Wamda. More access to finance and interest from global investors have been spurred by our recovering economy and decreasing inflation rate, as well as government initiatives supporting SMEs and startups. The number of venture capital (VC) firms, accelerators, and incubators keeps increasing, as do the number and quality of projects seeking their funding and support.

Opportunity and necessity are driving the boom: Greater awareness of entrepreneurship, through media coverage and dedicated education programs at public universities, has also contributed to a collective mindset shift. Around 76% of Egyptians surveyed in the 2017-18 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report (pdf) see entrepreneurship as a desirable career choice (compared to a global average of 61.6%), while 55.5% (double the global average)want to start their own businesses. Necessity-driven entrepreneurship is growing even more quickly than opportunity-driven entrepreneurship, as high rates of unemployment and a “lack of interesting jobs” are pushing more young people to start their own initiatives. A mentor at Fekretak Sherketak cites mass transportation app Swvl as an example of a homegrown Egyptian startup successfully addressing problems of overcrowding, congestion and poor infrastructure, adapting the model used by Uber and Careem to meet our particular market needs.

Though the environment is flourishing, it’s far from flawless. Egypt has the highest rate of business discontinuation among the 49 countries studied in the GEM report, standing at 10.2% in 2017 compared to 2.7% in 2010. For this to improve, investors need to better understand the unique nature of investing in startups, and that they often won’t see a rapid return on their investment, as it takes a long time for startups to become profitable, the report notes. There needs to be more access to capital and a friendlier regulatory environment so that entrepreneurs receive the support they need to learn from their experiences, build stronger businesses and drive the virtuous cycle of sector growth.