A report lists Egyptian tech startups as Africa’s “most accelerated”

Egyptian startups are the most accelerated in Africa, with 38.6 per cent of them having taken part in some kind of acceleration or incubation programme. 

That is according to the newly-released Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 from Disrupt Africa, which dives into the local ecosystem by analysing active startups, local support networks, and funding and exit activity over the last seven years.

The first geographically-focused publication released by the company, the report is made possible by support from key partners the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Global Ventures. Other supporters of the report are AUC Venture Lab (V-Lab) and Quona Capital.

A key finding of the inaugural report is that, of the 562 startups tracked and analysed, almost 40 per cent of them have taken part in some form of accelerator or incubator programme.

“This is a remarkable statistic, and one that dwarves any of Egypt’s key regional competitors,” said Disrupt Africa co-founder Tom Jackson. “What is just as impressive is that these startup support services are being provided to startups across a number of verticals, and are offered by a range of organisations, from focused acceleration companies, to government entities, to universities, to corporates.

Disrupt Africa counts 37 accelerators or incubators that are currently active or have been active at points over the last six years, while Egyptian startups have also taken part in renowned international accelerators such as Y Combinator, 500 Startup, Google for Startups and Facebook Accelerator.

Egyptian fintech startups are the most popular with accelerators and incubators, with just shy of half the 65 fintech companies tracked by the report having taken part in some kind of programme. E-health ventures are the next most sought after, with 47.2 per cent accelerated or incubated, followed by marketing (47.1%) and recruitment (45.2%).

As with this year’s African Tech Startups Funding Report 2021, which has been downloaded almost 4,000 times, and Finnovating for Africa 2021, released in June and already downloaded 2,000 times, the Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 is available to all for free, making the data and analysis contained in its pages accessible to those for whom the information is most valuable – entrepreneurs.