Egyptian start-ups meet the German ecosystem
21.12.2023
Anna Moosmueller
Event
Soft Landing: Egypt for a visit
As part of our TECH4Transition project, founders from Egypt visited us to discuss technology transfer, build networks and explore the potential for innovation here and in Egypt.
“Informative, exciting and inspiring” – this was the initial conclusion of the Egyptian delegation, which visited KIT, the incubator as well as Karlsruhe and Berlin at the end of November 2023. Among them were six finalists of the Rally Accelerate competition, representatives of the Arab Academy Entrepreneurship Centre and representatives of other institutions.
The journey through the German ecosystem began at KIT with presentations on the start-up incubator, technology transfer and Karlsruhe’s business development and start-up scene. The participants were able to find out from BW-i what programmes and other initiatives “The Land” has to offer. Using the example of AXEL – The Energy Accelerator, they gained insights into local accelerators. They were able to discuss the latest ideas and international collaborations with representatives of the KIT Innovation Hub.
Their trip also took them to the FZI House of the Living Labs, where they gained insights into the latest experiments in autonomous driving, AI and robotics. At a networking breakfast at the IHK Karlsruhe, the participants exchanged ideas with representatives of the IHK, Steinbeis Europe and GIZ Business Scout about opportunities for international networks and cooperation.
Africa Startup Connect Week
In the middle of the week, the delegation travelled with Nermin, Petra and Rolf from KIT-Gründerschmiede to Berlin for the African Startup Connect Week, organised by GIZ Make-IT in Africa. During the event, which lasted several days, the incubator was involved in three programme items: A world café focussing on scientific innovation and, building on this, a panel discussion that looked at the topics of transfer and spin-offs from an African and German perspective.
The third item on the programme was a public pitch workshop in which the six Egyptian start-ups presented their ideas to a high-calibre jury and an interested audience. The meeting of many start-ups from the African region, the networking and the exchange with investors formed the overarching framework of the Africa Startup Connect Week.
You can find more information about TECH4Transition on the project website.
Hesham, one of the participants in the delegation, made a short video about the trip, which you can watch on LinkedIn.
