ITIDA to establish office in Egypt, conduct programmes with 500 Global Partners

As part of a holistic ecosystem plan that also sees it create an office in the nation and hire Amal Enan as a partner in Egypt, the global venture capital company 500 Global has teamed with the Egyptian IT Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) to operate a number of programmes.

Venture capital company 500 Global manages US $2.7 billion in assets, and ITIDA is the executive branch of the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), charged with promoting the growth of Egypt’s IT sector.

The two’s relationship will bring a variety of programmes to Cairo with the strategic objective of enhancing the nation’s developing startup environment. The first office for 500 Global to be established on the African continent will be in Egypt.

Over a three-year period, 500 Global will roll out three distinct programmes that will aid close to 200 startups and about 60 accelerator managers. These include a bootcamp for seed-stage businesses, a “scale-Up” programme with anticipated investments for enrolled pre-Series A businesses, and a bootcamp for accelerator managers.

Amal Enan has been appointed as a partner at 500 Global as part of its expanded strategy. She will be based in Cairo and be in charge of managing deal-related activities there. Enan has been making investments in Egyptian startups for the past eight years. Her previous employment history also includes positions at the American University in Cairo, Global Ventures, the Egyptian American Enterprise Fund, the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, EFG Hermes, and the IFC.

“The partnership comes within the ministry’s keenness to establish cooperation with key global players to build an inclusive and robust network of experts and investors, aiming to accelerate the growth of the local startup sector and boost the innovation-based entrepreneurship,” said Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr Amr Talaat.

“We are thrilled to partner with ITIDA to bring 500 Global’s world-class programmes, which have produced eight of our 49 unicorns, and a venture education programme tailored for accelerator managers. As long-time investors in the country, we have the utmost confidence in the potential of the Egyptian market and look to be a key enabler of its fast-growing ecosystem,” said Courtney Powell, 500 Global’s chief operating officer and managing partner.