CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), Eng. Ahmed Elzaher, participated in the ninth edition of Techne Summit 2023, highlighting the agency’s commitment and initiatives dedicated to supporting Egypt’s young startups
CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), Eng. Ahmed Elzaher, participated in the ninth edition of Techne Summit 2023, highlighting the agency’s commitment and initiatives dedicated to supporting Egypt’s young startups.
The event was held at Bibliotheca Alexandrina between the 7th and 10th of October, under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), ITIDA, the Digital Economy and Technology General Division (DETGD), and the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC).
Speaking at the panel of “Revolutionizing Corporate Innovation: Navigating Technological Transformation, Startup Collaborations, and Strategic Acquisitions,” ElZaher showcased the agency’s influence and the leading role it plays in nurturing tech-innovation startups and boosting the local entrepreneurship ecosystem in Egypt. “ITIDA aims to create a supportive business environment for the local startups in Egypt in light of the ministry of CIT’s strategic pillar of empowering entrepreneurs and growing the startup ecosystem,” he said.
ElZaher affirmed that ITIDA’s support extends to offering services that span across the entire value chain and the whole lifecycle of the startups, starting from promoting the culture of entrepreneurship, especially among the student community. Additionally, ITIDA offers incubation and pre-incubation services that extend to supporting startups to penetrate global markets and matchmaking these startups with potential investors.
The CEO noted that ITIDA has thus far trained 11k of local talent in the field of entrepreneurship during 2023 across its Digital innovation hubs (CREATIVA) spread across the country where ITIDA offers a variety of programs and services to around 400 technology/technology-enabled startups.
He added, “We offer various programs attending to the different stages and segments of the startup ecosystem, such as the Women Entrepreneurship Program (Heya Ra’ydaa), a program dedicated to empowering and supporting early-stage women entrepreneurs with tech ideas, in addition to incubation programs for high-tech startups.”
ElZaher explained that cooperation with multinational and local companies is an integral element of ITIDA’s work, as it partners with many companies to support the startup sector. He pointed to ITIDA’s cooperation with a leading tech company to establish and equip the first Industry 4.0 Innovation Center (IIC) in the Knowledge City at the New Administrative Capital, which will be inaugurated soon.
On the sidelines of the summit, ElZaher met with a group from the TIEC Innovation Ambassador (TIEC-IA) program. ITIDA’s CEO praised their efforts and stressed the importance of the role they play in realizing ITIDA’s goal of spreading the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation.
During Techne Summit 2023, ITIDA sponsors the participation of 20 startups, including 10 exhibiting companies under the pavilion of ITIDA and the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) at the summit, in addition to supporting the participation of 10 startups in the activities of the summit in order to help them network and meet up with potential investors to support their entrepreneurial projects.
