Here are five major headlines that took place this last month in the MENA entrepreneurial scene that you should know about.
1. I-Events launches Egypt's Entrepreneur Awards to celebrate and recognize national entrepreneurs.
On the 25th of February, the Egyptian event agency founded by Amr Mansi, I-Events announced the launch of Egypt's Entrepreneur Awards (EEA), with the goal of acknowledging Egypt's brightest entrepreneurs across different industries in order to motivate and inspire younger generations. Applications for EEA opened on the 25th and will remain open until April 6th.
2. UK’s Hambro Perks launches a $50 million fund to invest in MENA startups.
On the 24th of February, British venture firm Hambro Perks announced the launch of its $50 million Oryx-Fund. Oryx-Fund is a MENA-focused investment fund targeting early-stage startups in the region. Oryx-Fund has a particular emphasis on helping develop and scale early-stage Fintech, Healthtech, and Edtech startups.
3. French-Egyptian startup competition winners announced.
The joint startup competition organized in Egypt under the patronage of the French Embassy, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, and the Central Bank of Egypt in 2019 announced its winners on the 17th of February 2021. The winners in the “health” category were startups, 3elagi and Bypa-ss. In the “ Fintech” category, ElGameya and Ocra were the winners. As for the “Sustainable Cities” category, the winners were announced to be Transport and Hood.
4. The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre launches the UAEs first government-backed startup studio.
On February 21st, the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) announced the launch of its latest program by the name of Sharjah Startup Studio (S3) to help support entrepreneurs in the early stages of their startups. S3 will dedicate a team of experienced experts to work alongside the founders of the startups in order to assist with the co-creation of the Startup. Startups in S3 will be eligible for business incorporation in Sharjah and will be given access to a state-of-the-art co-working space at the Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP).
5. Digital Finance Holding establishes a new debt-focused fund, Camel Ventures.
This month, the tech-based financial services platform, Digital Finance Holding (DFin) announced a new venture debt-fund by the name of Camel Ventures, which is currently fundraising and should be launched in the second quarter of the year. By setting up Camel Ventures, DFin aims to provide “new financing options that address the actual capital needs of startups" in the region.