What is Plug and Play Egypt?
Plug and Play Egypt is a non-profit organization founded in 2014 by a group of Egyptian entrepreneurs who wanted to create a startup ecosystem in Egypt. The goal was to provide startups with access to resources and support to build their businesses.
In 2015, the government announced a plan to establish a Startup Village in Giza, where entrepreneurs would be able to get free office space, mentorship from experts, and access to capital.
However, the project faced several challenges. For example, the government had no clear idea of how to run such a program. Also, the government didn’t want to give away too much power to the private sector. As a result, the Startup Village never got off the ground.
But that doesn’t mean the founders gave up on their vision for Egypt. They decided to launch an alternative initiative called Plug and Play Egypt.
The mission of Plug and Play Egypt is to help startups succeed by providing them with office space, mentorship, and access to funding. In addition, Plug and Play Egypt provides startups with a platform to connect with investors and other entrepreneurs.
The first Plug and Play Egypt office opened its doors in 2016. Since then, more than 100 companies have signed up to use this office space.
Today, we speak with Hossam Elmasry, one of the cofounders of Plug and Play Egypt. He tells us about his experience running the company, what it has accomplished so far, and what he thinks needs to happen next.
Hossam Elmasry: Hello! My name is Hossam Elmasri. I am one of the cofounding members of Plug and Play Egypt, which is a non-profit venture created in 2014. We are based out of Giza, Egypt.
We started Plug and Play Egypt because we saw there were many startups coming into existence but they weren’t getting the kind of support that they needed. So, we recognized that there was a need for a place where these startups could come together and work on their ideas.
We also realized that the government wasn’t doing enough to support startups. This led us to start working on our own model. Our idea was to bring together all the resources that startups need—like office space, mentors, and funding—in order to make sure they can grow as fast as possible.
So, we launched Plug and Play Egypt in 2016. Today, we have over 100 startups registered at our offices. We offer office space, mentorship programs, and access to funding through our partners.
Our main focus right now is helping startups scale up. We believe that if you don’t have a large base of customers or users, your business will not survive.
That’s why we are focused on building partnerships with universities, incubators, accelerators, and tech hubs. These organizations share our values and understand the importance of supporting startups.
In fact, we just recently partnered with the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The ministry wants to become a hub for digital innovation.
