Flat6Labs, an accelerator programme that specialises in the rehabilitation of emerging technology companies, has funded 46 projects worth $10m between 2011 until now in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, according to Flat6Lab Cairo managing director Willie Elamein.
Flat6Labs is a regional programme established in 2011 by Sawari Ventures and the American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Business Administration to turn technology ideas into real projects.
Elamein told Daily News Egypt that the programme works to support entrepreneurs in the Middle East. It provides selected projects that apply via the website with seed financing and vocational training to their owners.
The programme is currently operating in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, and Jeddah, he added, and will begin in Beirut during the coming period. The programme still aims for further expansion according to Elamein.
Selected projects in Egypt are supported with funding ranging between EGP 100 and EGP 150,000, for a stake of 10-15% of the project’s shares, said Elamein.
He further explained that owners of projects and ideas can apply for funding through the website online. The programme’s experts then filter through the ideas and nominate several of them. Afterwards, the programme invites candidates for interviews and a series of tests to ensure the soundness of their ideas.
The chosen owners undergo a four-month training programme before receiving the funding, he added
Elamein pointed out that some projects funded by the programme have failed, while other turned out extremely successful, exceeding market value by millions of US dollars.
The programme obtains its share of the project after selling it, whether to investors or through listing the company on the stock market, explained Elamein.
Flat6Labs has recently held a cooperation agreement with Barclays Bank Egypt, in order to support entrepreneurs in the field of financial technology in Egypt.
According to Elamein, the programme chose Barclays Bank for its interest in innovation, which is the same field of Flat6Labs work.