SAP and TIEC Launch Global Start-up Focus Program for Technology Start-ups
7 December 2016 – Technology company SAP and the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) have launched the SAP Startup Focus Program in Egypt with the first ever Startup Focus Event.
Demonstrating strong growth, ICT is set to boost Egypt’s GDP. A major driver is e-commerce, which is set to nearly triple to reach USD 14 billion by 2020, per Payfort, the digital payment provider and online payment gateway.
Supporting local startups in driving the region’s digital transformation and strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Egypt, the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC), part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, has joined forces with global enterprise technology giant and startup enabler SAP to launch the SAP Startup Focus Program in Egypt.
“The government strives to accelerate economic growth and create more job opportunities. TIEC promoted Startup Focus to deliver best practices and industry-standard software development techniques that bolster young entrepreneurs and promote the growth of the digital sector in the economy,” said Dr. Hossam Osman, ITIDA Vice President and TIEC Manager. TIEC works with stakeholders to foster a viable environment for startups to thrive, allowing entrepreneurs to start, develop, and expand their business globally.
Selected start-ups in Egypt now have the chance to develop their solutions on the SAP HANA real-time analytics platform and to receive free support from technical experts to help them productizing their ideas and making the best use of the SAP HANA cloud platform. Participating start-ups have access to a community network of entrepreneurs, partners, investors, thought leaders, and industry experts. Once validated, start-ups can pitch to SAP’s ecosystem of more than 335,000 customers worldwide.
“With the majority of Egypt’s population being under 30 years old, especially young tech entrepreneurs are paving the future for commercializing innovations to solve real-world challenges. Incubators and accelerators such as Startup Focus and TIEC are playing a vital role in helping bring innovative startups into the fast-growth technology market, and driving ICT job creation in Egypt,” said Marita Mitschein, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, SAP Training and Development Institute.
Worldwide, Startup Focus has engaged with more than 3,750 start-ups across 59 countries and 22 industries, bringing more than 225 of their validated solutions to market since 2013.
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Photo Captions:
[Image 1] Technology company SAP and the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) have launched a new startup enabler in Egypt.
[Image 2] Marita Mitschein, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, SAP Training and Development Institute emphasized how startups are driving ICT job creation.
