Egytrans — a transport and logistics company — announced the names of the top three start-up winners during the closing ceremony of the first round of the company’s incubation programme, ‘Logivators.’
The new logistics incubator is considered a unique investment in Egypt’s logistics industry and an enabler that brings small businesses, local start-ups, and ambitious entrepreneurs together with key industry leaders to deliver top-notch innovative logistical solutions to the local market.
The programme was launched in collaboration with prominent accelerator hubs PMaestro and Cash Cows that are working to help entrepreneurs transform their vision into a functioning business successfully.
“We’re proud to see the programme achieve such great success in its first edition. It was indeed an enriching and also a fulfilling experience for us, and not just as a sponsor. Egytrans was deeply involved in the mentoring and training phase. Some of the company’s representatives and experts shared their on-ground experience and knowledge in the logistics field with the participating start-ups, giving them a deeper insight into the market’s needs and real-time challenges,” said Abir Leheta — CEO of Egytrans.
“We’re keen to be among the drivers of change and innovation in the logistics start-up field. We believe investing in incubation programmes aligns perfectly with the general direction towards investing in start-ups operating across multiple fields as well as the government’s unprecedented support to further boost the country’s start-up ecosystem.”
She added that “studies showed that venture capital funding in Egypt-based start-ups reached $491m in 2021 compared to $191m in the previous year, recording a CAGR of 117% between 2017 and 2021. Also, nearly 42% of the total funding has gone to the transport, logistics, and e-commerce industries.”
“With the growth projections worldwide predicting an exponential surge in logistics and transport over the coming years, the market will definitely need the minds and capabilities of young businesses and start-ups with futuristic visions.”
“The main objective of launching Logivators is to enable entrepreneurs in transport and logistics to develop their start-ups and scale them up on different fronts, such as fulfilling the needs of the very dynamic market, getting foreign investments, and creating new job opportunities,” she said.
For his part, Mohamed Mounir — Managing Director of PMaestro — said: “The Start-up Factory team is honoured to co-create Logivators with Egytrans and Cash Cows with a Corporate Venture Capital model that modernizes the logistics sector in Egypt with youth innovation.”
“With this objective in mind, we were keen that participants get the most knowledge and insights in every step of the programme. Starting with the selection of top-notch experts and mentors sharing their experience in the form of workshops and mentorship sessions, to the tools and platforms provided to participants. All has been organised to help graduate start-ups to accelerate their growth and to be ready to compete in international markets.”
“We at Cash Cows are eagerly pursuing new start-ups in all sectors — start-ups that can disrupt the market, change how people live. Logistics is one of the sectors that does change how people live. Hopefully this cycle of Logivators and the coming ones can bring forth in our beloved country new unicorns that will disrupt the market,” said Ahmed Reda — CEO of Cash Cows.
Since its launch in October of 2021, the programme witnessed remarkable initiative from participating start-ups. It received 56 applications before finally selecting and investing in seven teams of entrepreneurs.
The programme was based on an open-innovation model that built on the experience and knowledge of Egytrans, representative advisers, and mentors from different backgrounds.
It also included 25 sessions and workshops with eight different modules to guide passionate entrepreneurs on how to navigate the business world, achieve goals, and deal with setbacks.
The sessions were delivered by a selection of founders, professionals, and experts from the most successful start-ups that are currently dominating the market scene.
The programme also included mentorship and demo events where all start-ups had the chance to showcase their progress to the programme’s partners and receive constructive feedback from a distinguished panel of judges.
