A challenge with startups is considering finances for the first few years until the company lands on its feet. Signaling increasing confidence in Egypt’s potential as a hub for innovation and business development, Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah El Sisi has announced a five-year tax exemption for startups in the country during his visit to Borg El Arab Technological University in Alexandria. 

This is part of a strategy to attract foreign investments in the country’s burgeoning startup ecosystem that has already garnered over $1.5 billion in investments over the past five years, with a growth rate of 50%. 

With over 650 tech startups in operation across the country,

Egypt’s startup ecosystem has been growing exponentially over the last few years. E-commerce, clearly, is king in Egypt, the sector where over one-fifth of the country’s tech startups are active, followed by retail tech and fintech.

Meanwhile, Entlaq Holding, a provider of accelerator programs and consultancy services for the country’s entrepreneurial space, has launched an Entrepreneurship Week program to provide 73 universities in the country with the skills and knowledge to form an entrepreneurial mindset and launch startups.