Techne Summit Alexandria 2023 Concludes its Ninth Edition with Over 30,000 Attendees, 200 Investors, and 145 Startups

Over the course of four days, the Bibliotheca Alexandria witnessed the ninth edition of Techne Summit Alexandria the Mediterranean’s premier investment and startup event, which was held from the 7th to the 10th of October under the patronage of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA), the Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC), the General Division for Digital Economy and Technology (DETGD), and the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), with the participation of more than 30,000 visitors, 200 investors, and 145 startups and exhibitors. In addition to the summit activities, which included more than 80 panel discussions and 50 interactive workshops, presented by professional specialists and experts locally, regionally and globally to discuss 10 distinct tracks on tech, innovation, and investment.
A significant investment deal on the second day of the summit was announced by OBM Education’s “Student Super App” in collaboration with Value Maker Studio (VMS). Considering the major contribution of the APP in enhancing the educational process of high school students across the Middle East and North Africa through providing distinctive services that include tailored content and precise evaluations; the investment will be deployed to further boost OBM’s e-learning capabilities, and advance its expansion in Saudi Arabia. VMS will also launch the “Bridge” initiative in January 2024, which will assist startups such as OBM Education with comprehensive resources encompassing funding, tech services, legal counsel, financial management, and HR expertise.
During the summit, the launch of the third edition of the “Corporate Innovation Program”, Techne’s flagship program, was announced aiming at provide an exceptional opportunity for startups to develop tailored solutions to tackle the challenges of the partner corporations, enhancing their ability to innovate and positively impact the market. In its third edition, the program features two tracks: the HealthTech track, supported by Novartis, and the Marketing Track, supported by PepsiCo. The program’s duration is 3 months ending with a startup pitch in front of a distinguished jury committee that will select the winning ideas to work with Novartis and PepsiCo.
The wrap-up of the ninth edition of Techne Summit Alexandria included the announcement of the winning startups in the competitions organized by the summit on the sidelines of the event, starting with the Swedish Embassy FinTech competition, which includes a fully funded trip to Sweden to investigate new investment prospects. The winners are Qardy for Software Applications, the first aggregator for debt financing in Egypt, targeting facilitated loans for SMEs and giving the underserved market access to loans; and AgriCash, an Agri-FinTech app that empowers farmers by providing the finances to pay for all agricultural inputs from the marketplace, merchants & suppliers network through “Plant Now & Pay Later” services with installments over 6 to 12 months with 0% Interest.
Additionally, Cotton Town, a pioneering B2B digital platform that promotes cotton trading across the whole value chain from farm to fashion, won the Nilepreneurs Competition. This platform is dedicated to promoting the purest Egyptian cotton and enhancing the overall value chain by addressing key challenges through market connections, industry best practices, and branding strategies. The second winner of the Nilepreneurs Competition is Gowael7alla, a mobile application designed specifically to provide educational resources and services for the blind and visually impaired to empower them to cook their own food. Gowael7alla adopts customized language that addresses only the blind’s four senses and completely excludes sight expressions.
Hivos played a pivotal role in empowering the Investors of the Mediterranean by supporting a dynamic lineup of activities, from the Investors Breakfast to the impactful Matchmaking Investors Pitch event, where passionate startups shared their visions for a better future, all while fostering knowledge exchange through a series of engaging workshops and mentorship sessions across the 4-day event.
The sponsors of the ninth edition of Techne Summit Alexandria encompassed leading entities including the telecom partner, Telecom Egypt (WE); the Platinum sponsors, Zain Tech, Novartis, EdVentures, and Trianglz; the Gold sponsors, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), Hivos, Pepsico, and Investors of the Mediterranean; the Silver sponsors Paragon and Roche; and organized by Markade Agency. Moreover, the summit was attended by a group of international, regional, and Egyptian experts led by Waleed Alballaa, General Partner at Sukna Ventures; Ali Abussaud, Founding Manager Partner at HALA Ventures; and Mohammed Al-Rashidi, Founder and Executive Chairman of Kuwait’s One Global VC representing the Gulf Cooperation Council. As well as a group of investors from the United States, including Joanne Wong, General Partner at REDDS Capital, a California venture capital company that invests in companies globally, and Keo Sar, Executive Director of August Hill.
It is noteworthy that the eighth edition of the Techne Summit Alexandria hosted more than 30,000 participants. Together with a prestigious group of leading speakers and experts in various fields locally, regionally, and globally. Techne Summit has earned its reputation as the ideal platform for deal sourcing due to its pivotal role in attracting both established and rising startups since the launch of its first event in 2015.