The Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) and the Chamber of Information Technology and Communication (CIT) announced the launch of the Ibdaa technology incubator’s second edition.
The incubator, which has received EGP 2.5m in funding from ASRT, is one of the leading incubators specialised in technological innovation and digital transformation.
During its second edition, Ibdaa is expected to cover several areas, including Industry 4.0, infrastructure and smart services and e-commerce platforms, electronic games, virtual reality and financial technology (fintech).
Ibdaa is one of 20 incubators under the umbrella of the National Program for Technological Specialized Incubators (Intilac). The window for application submissions will remain open from 29 September to 2 November, via ASRT’s official website www.asrt.sci.eg.
In a press statement, ASRT President Mahmoud Saqr said that industry cooperation and support for innovation, innovators, and technological entrepreneurship is a top priority for the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Egypt’s Vision 2030.
“We are keen on integrating and coordinating efforts with institutions that support Egyptian entrepreneurship and startups,” Saqr said, “We also seek to provide elements of growth and stability for these projects already in the labour market”.
He added that Intilac has provided 20 technological incubators with funding of EGP 70m. Since 2016, over 130 companies have taken part in the programme, which has provided jobs for young innovators and pioneers, as well as entrepreneurs.
A total of 103 emerging technology companies are already operating in the local and foreign markets, with funding provided by investments and self-financing.
For his part, Walid Gad, Chairperson of CIT’s Board of Directors, said that the incubator’s current session will be distinguished in terms of themes and the number of graduates.
“We plan to receive 100 projects and ideas from 200 innovators in the first phase,” Gad said, “There will be about 20 innovators in the pre-incubation stage, which are filtered to select the best 10-15 projects among them in the incubation stage.”
A total of seven technology startups graduated from Ibdaa’s first round of incubation, with the companies granted EGP 150,000 each. They have been highly successful, achieving profits and partnerships in the education, tourism, augmented reality, virtual reality, real estate, technical education and child intelligence measurement sectors.
