The company (Tahrir)2 disbursed $2m worth of investments in the Information Technology sector. Samer El-Sahan, the CEO of (Tahrir)2, revealed that 7 companies had received a total of $500,000, noting that two companies will begin to be marketed in the next few months while two other companies will be excluded because they did not perform at the desired level. The rest of the companies will continue to be developed.
He said that an investment company had agreed to by a portion of the company ‘Fun Wave’ and that the agreement will be signed within days. He added that (Tahrir)2 will look to sell the company ‘Open Days’ in the coming months. El-Sahan said that ‘Fun Wave’ designs Facebook games and ‘Open Days’ is a virtual marketplace. El-Sahan added that his company set $1,000 the minimum investment in a single company while the maximum is set at $100,000, noting that (Tahrir)2 has not yet invested the maximum amount in a single company.
He explained that companies that receive financing pass through three stages. In the first stage a company receives EGP 10,000 to last one month. In the second stage, which lasts three months, a company receives EGP 50,000. Finally, the company in the third stage receives at least EGP 100,000 or more depending on the company’s needs.
El-Sahan said that (Tahrir)2 started after the revolution and named after the iconic Tahrir Square in Cairo. He noted that countries such as Brazil that grew their economies quickly depended on developing and investing in innovative ideas. He explained that some of the largest American companies such as Dell, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and others began as an idea among a group of young people and then grew to become massive enterprises.
El-Sahan said that the proportion of new ideas that (Tahrir)2 invests in that become viable for investment is about 10%, and that one in 10 of those companies will succeed in making back investments and turning a profit. He explained that (Tahrir)2 usually purchases between 30% and 50% of a company so that the owners feel as though they are partners and not mere investments. He said that (Tahrir)2 seeks to recover its invested capital within a period not exceeding five years.
