The Suez Canal Bank announced on Monday that it is accepting applications for the fourth session of its technology applications business incubator, Launch SaaS, which is sponsored by the bank within the Nileprenuers Initiative that is funded by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and implemented by Nile University.
The upcoming session will focus on three main aspects. The first is providing support to start-ups that provide innovative technology-based solutions to tackle the issue of climate change, create a more sustainable future, and take into account the environmental, social, and governance dimensions (ESG).
The second includes start-ups that help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt to digitally transform, whether in preparing lists of suppliers or issuing purchase orders and paying electronic bills.
The third aspect includes start-ups that are interested in the field of fintech.
Start-ups and SMEs that meet one of the three criteria can apply for the session through https://bit.ly/3znhD4K.
Hussein Rifai — Chairperson and Managing Director of Suez Canal Bank — said that the fourth session coincides with Egypt’s preparations to host the 27th UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27), which will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh this November.
The session will focus on providing support to start-ups that provide technical solutions and a more sustainable future, especially in the field of fintech and digital transformation, taking into account the environmental and social dimensions.
Furthermore, Rifai stressed that the bank’s participation in these initiatives is the result of its policy to expand support for the SME sector, which is of interest to the political leadership and the CBE.
It is also to help young people obtain financial and advisory services and create a conducive environment for innovation and job creation. Moreover, it contributes to diversifying the resources of the national economy as per Egypt’s 2030 Vision.
For her part, Heba Labib — Executive Director of the Nileprenuers Initiative — praised the fruitful cooperation between the initiative and banks, which contributed to intensifying efforts to support the entrepreneurship community and start-up owners in Egypt in various fields.
She also said that the Suez Canal Bank is one of the leading institutions that sought to cooperate with the initiative and its various programmes through business development programmes and incubation centres and has exported Egyptian technological solutions worldwide.
By the end of 2021, the Suez Canal Bank’s Launch SaaS incubated about 33 start-ups, which received financial support amounting to EGP 3.9m.
Moreover, the value of foreign investments in these amounted to EGP 27m, and their sales achieved EGP 109m since entering the affiliate incubation programme.
The Bank has also organised over 150 training courses for entrepreneurs and start-ups.
