Speaker line-up features Minister of Tourism, Minister of Social Solidarity, over 200 start-ups, executives from Uber, Facebook, Microsoft, IBM, Pepsico Vodafone Egypt & more
Content zones in on local perspectives, grounded experiences
The 6th Annual RiseUp Summit revealed its three-day agenda, featuring talks by Her Excellency Rania Al Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism, Her Excellency Ghada Waly, Minister of Social Solidarity, content from over 200 participating start-ups from the Middle East and North Africa, talks and workshops by executives from Uber, Facebook, Microsoft, IBM, Pepsico, Vodafone Egypt – all focused on Grounded Experiences – real challenges facing entrepreneurs in the region, and practical conversations on how to overcome them. The event takes over downtown Cairo once again on December 7th, 8th and 9th with activities happening at The GrEEK Campus and the American University in Cairo’s Tahrir Campus.
The speaker line-up this year features prominent figures from the region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, as well as global figures such as Jason Pau, Chief of Staff, office of the executive chairman of the Alibaba Group Jack Ma, Bart Van Der Vel, Head of Luxury at Facebook, and Brook Entwistle, Chief Business Office at Uber International and Ryno Rijnsburger, CTO of Microsoft 4Afrika.
“Last year we focused on innovation for the human experience. This year’s summit will tackle the very real challenges, tangible goals, and look at stories of how powerful entrepreneurs, business professionals, creatives and technology gurus came to be,” said RiseUp CEO & Co-founder Abdelhameed Sharara. “Grounded Experiences means we are looking at local needs, local gaps and developing solutions for them with the resources available, and bringing the local ecosystem together, with all the realities of entrepreneurship – the successes, the failures, the obstacles and the opportunities.”
“We’re very happy to be one of the main sponsors of RiseUp Summit for the first time, an event now recognized as a key start-up forum in the region,” said Nashwa Aly, Facebook’s Head of Public Policy for MENA. “Our partnership with RiseUp demonstrates our growing commitment to Egypt’s vibrant tech and start-up ecosystem, and our intent to continue working closely with both the youth and Egyptian policymakers to catalyze the tremendous social and economic opportunities inherent in digital platforms.”
Facebook’s participation at RiseUp spans diverse activities from eye-opening talks and panels showcasing Startup and Developer Programs from Facebook, and engaging policymakers in dialogue, to transformative learning opportunities for women entrepreneurs with the SheMeansBusiness workshop led by Ahead of the Curve. Facebook is also offering FBStart access to 50 winners of the Startup pitch competition, and helping developers learn about innovative tools and shared experiences.
Some of RiseUp Summit 2018’s Events:
Pitch Competition
50 of MENA’s best startups will go head-to-head on the biggest stage in the Middle East for this year’s edition of the RiseUp Pitch Competition. The Pitch Competition is only open to pre-seed Startups. With pitches under three minutes, expect to be wowed as each startup calls for your attention to show off their product against the clock for the chance to win some incredible prizes!
Algebra Ventures Investor Office Hours
Algebra Ventures is holding 15 minute one-on-one sessions with start-ups to offer advice, answer questions, discuss ideas, and listen to their pitches. Hundreds of entrepreneurs have applied and 20 were chosen to participate.
Talent Match-making Event
Wuzzuf, the leading recruitment platform, is once again hosting its Talent Match-Making Event at the Summit. Senior professionals will have an exclusive opportunity to meet the founders of Egypt’s most promising startups in one place and learn the ins and outs of the entrepreneurship scene in Egypt from the biggest leaders in the game. Startup founders seeking experts to join them as co-founders or board members, or those who need executives in key positions, will find their match here.
Uber Pitch n Ride
For the 4th year running, Uber is organizing the original Pitch n’ Ride! Ten entrepreneurs will get in a special car with an established investor and have 10 minutes to pitch their idea. Investors will either choose to invest in your startup or provide free consultation. This year, participants will have a special screen in the car if they want to add a presentation and each startup can have 2 representatives in the car.
HIPOs
The summit will once again feature the HIPOs (High Potential ) startups program in partnership with Algebra Ventures, which will shed light on 18 of the most high potential growth startups in the region. This year they include Halan, Wuzzuf, Swvl, Paymob & Accept, Mendel.ai and Dsquares from Egypt, POS Rocket and ArabiaWeather from Jordan, YallaCompare, Aqeed and InstaShop from Dubai, Noon Academy from Saudi Arabia, WaysToCap from Morocco and Myki from Lebanon.
This year’s main partners include Facebook, Uber, IBM, Vodafone, and Pepsico. Other partners include Halan, Wuzzuf, Startup Bahrain, and the Egyptian Stock Exchange. The summit’s content is curated in partnership with Algebra Ventures, A15, Edventures, Endure Capital, Ebkeyz, Averroes Ventures and Orient Productions.
Last year, over 5,000 individuals attended the RiseUp Summit from over 40 countries. The Summit featured 176 content sessions and 62 workshops provided by 256 professional speakers. 251 startups participated in the Summit as either exhibitors or at the Pitch Competition. There were over 190 investors in attendance networking with entrepreneurs.
For more talks, timings, and their location, the RiseUp Summit 2018 agenda can be found here
About RiseUp:
RiseUp was founded in 2013 in Egypt and quickly became a grassroots movement that spread across the MENA region and beyond. It catalyzed ecosystems and connected regional startups with global resources, beginning with RiseUp Summit (an annual entrepreneurship event) and growing into a range of products and activities supporting startups, and developing ecosystems throughout the year, including RiseUp Connect, RiseUp Explore, and RiseUp Meetup.
