Google MENA has just announced its latest initiative named, Ebda’, which literally means Begin in Arabic. The initiative, launched in partnership with Egyptian businesses, Innoventures and Science Age Society, will give one Egyptian entrepreneur the chance to get their startup off the ground, with the help of a $200,000 seed investment from Google. In addition to financial support, Google, Innoventures and Science Age Society will be travelling all over the country, looking for Egypt’s talent, and will mentor and coach the young entrepreneurs throughout the process, until they select one winner.
The Next Web had the chance to speak with Ari Kesisoglu, the Managing Director of Google for the Middle East and North Africa about Google’s involvement in the initiative:
Wael Fakharany, Google’s Regional Manager for Egypt and North Africa gave us some insight into the process that applicants will go through:
The entrepreneurial and startup scene in the country has seen a huge boost in the past couple of years, with new startup accelerators, incubators and venture capital funds emerging to offer both financial and advisory support, but Google’s initiative is certainly the largest yet, offering over $200,000 in seed capital (which translates to over 1 million Egyptian Pounds).
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If you’re interested in participating in Ebda’, you can find all the details here.
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