500 Global, ITIDA announced the Scale Up Program’s first batch and showcase event

The VC firm 500 Global and The Egyptian Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) announced the first batch of the 500 Global in Egypt Scale Up Program.

The 7-week program is dedicated to Pre-Series A and Series A startups in Egypt, and is designed to empower founders through personalized mentorship and growth techniques, setting the stage for their future success.

How does it work?

The program kicked off on October 1, 2023 at the Creativa Giza Hub, also known as The Factory, operated by ITIDA. The batch then embarked on their journey to El Fayoum for an immersive 3-day retreat, delving into founder well-being and leadership through engaging in empowering activities and spending time kickstarting a community as a batch.

This lays the foundation for their eagerness to participate in all the upcoming workshops facilitated by our global mentors. Workshop topics include growth experiments, sales and marketing, operational excellence, hiring and more.

The program will culminate with the Scale Up Showcase on November 16, 2023, at Creativa Giza Hub, also known as The Factory, in Cairo, Egypt.

This exclusive, invite-only event provides startups with the opportunity to showcase their innovative ventures. Founders will have the chance to network with 500 Global's network of industry leaders, partners and ecosystem players.

In addition, the Scale Up Showcase will feature globally renowned keynote speakers, including Sean Ellis, Author of Hacking Growth. There will also be panel discussions focusing on regional and international landscapes. Courtney Powell, Chief Operations Officer and Managing Partner at 500 Global will also be hosting a by-invite-only brunch.

The program will continue with support for 3 months after the Showcase, offering one-on-one office hours with mentors and advisors, one free year of office space at the Creativa Giza Hub (aka The Factory), company growth mapping, and more.

The Batch 1 Startups

The startups from the first batch span sectors, including Fintech, Martech, Real Estate, Logistics/Supply Chain and more. There are two digital health startups in the batch, as well:

• O7 Therapy - which is revolutionizing wellness and mental health by constructing MENA's largest all-in-one mental health platform.
• Rology - an AI-assisted teleradiology platform.

Other (non-digital health) startups accepted to the program include Birdnest, Blnk, Convertedin, Dresscode, FriendyCar, ILLA, Khazenly, MQR, Nowlun, NowPay, Orcas, Suplyd, and Sylndr.

On the record

"Despite a challenging global and local macroeconomic backdrop, we found Egyptian founders proving that Egypt remains a thriving technology market in the Middle East and Africa. This was evident in the highly competitive process for the Scale Up program where we met stellar caliber continuing to build resilient and healthy companies with enormous potential. We aim to provide a nourishing environment for the selected leaders to sustainably grow and scale their reach. The program brings to Cairo seasoned mentors, investors and exports to equip the founders with needed learnings and support on their growth trajectory," said Amal Enan, Partner at 500 Global. "With this program, our goal is to develop talent in the region even further for local startups to achieve greater scale, expand in their respective regions, and bring their unique concepts and technologies to consumers and enterprises globally. We're grateful for ITIDA's continued partnership in developing Egypt's startup ecosystem."

"Our support spans across the whole entrepreneurial lifecycle and programs like Scale Up and others are important to accelerating the growth of the local startup ecosystem and boosting innovation-based entrepreneurship," added Dr. Hossam Othman, ITIDA Vice President. "By bringing together key global players including experts, key players, stakeholders, and mentors with entrepreneurs and potential founders, we're creating a vibrant startup community that helps to enrich and grow our ecosystem to the next level."