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500 Global Partners ITIDA to Open Egypt Centre

December 6, 2022

Courtney Powell, 500 Global’s chief operating officer and managing partner

Global VC firm 500 Global has partnered the Egyptian IT Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) to run various programmes as part of a comprehensive ecosystem strategy that also sees it open an office in the country and appoints Amal Enan as partner in Egypt.

500 Global is a venture capital firm with US$2.7 billion in assets under management, while ITIDA is the executive arm of the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), aimed at spearheading the development of Egypt’s IT industry.

The partnership between the two will bring a range of programmes to Cairo with the strategic aim of boosting the country’s evolving startup ecosystem. 500 Global will be opening an office in Egypt, its first ever on the African continent.

Over a period of three years, 500 Global will deploy three separate programmes that will support nearly 200 startups and around 60 accelerator managers. Those are a bootcamp for seed-stage companies, a “scale-Up” programme with investments anticipated for participating pre-Series A companies, and a bootcamp for accelerator managers.

As part of its expanded strategy, 500 Global has appointed Amal Enan as partner, based in Cairo, overseeing deal-related activities in the country. Enan has been investing in Egyptian startups for the past eight years, with her experience including roles 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.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

500 Global Opens Egypt Office To Support Local Startups

November 29, 2022

In an effort to support Cairo’s developing startup ecosystem, 500 Global, one of the most active venture capital firms in the world, is collaborating with Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) to bring a number of initiatives to the city. Cairo will be the site of 500 Global’s first-ever office on the African continent.

Thanks to its staff of knowledgeable programme managers, investors, and mentors, 500 Global will roll out three distinct programmes over the course of three years that will assist close to 200 businesses and about 60 accelerator managers.. They include:

1- A bootcamp for seed-stage companies

2- A “Scale-Up” program with investments anticipated for participating Pre-Series A companies

3- A bootcamp for accelerator managers

Amal Enan has been hired by 500 Global as a Partner in Cairo to manage deal-related operations as part of its expanded strategy. Enan has spent the last eight years funding and assisting the scaling of Egyptian companies. She has worked for organisations such as Global Ventures, the Egyptian American Enterprise Fund, the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, EFG Hermes, and the IFC. She also held positions at the American University in Cairo.

After Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria, Egypt boasts Africa’s fourth-largest startup ecosystem. In 2021, its startups attracted close to $500 million in venture capital funding, more than twice as much as they did in 2020. In order to foster a local innovation community, the 500 Global-ITIDA partnership aims to train aspiring accelerator managers and equip promising startups with Egyptian roots with the resources they need to succeed.

MaxAB, Homzmart, and Breadfast are just a few of the more than 60 Egyptian startups in which 500 Global has invested over the course of a decade in Egypt.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh