Growing the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

The American University in Cairo’s Venture Lab – the first university-based incubator in Egypt – has launched a new acceleration programme that is helping 24 technology-based creative start-ups to develop to growth stage. In addition, entrepreneurs get access to university faculties and facilities for testing and refining their products before market launch. The entrepreneurial support programmes extend to eight local universities, who work closely with the American University to serve a broad segment of public university students. The empirical data around entrepreneurship in Egypt is benchmarked against global standards and knowledge exchange with international universities is pursued and maintained. Various stakeholders engage in a policy dialogue with participants, with the accompanying development of case studies and policy briefs, creating a broader constituency for change and improving the Egyptian entrepreneurship ecosystem.