Egypt launches 3rd African App Launchpad Cup

Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) has announced the launch of the third edition of the African App Launchpad Cup, aimed at supporting African tech startups in the field of digital applications and game development.

ITIDA, the executive arm of the Egyptian Ministry of Communication & Information Technology (MCIT), founded to spearhead the development of the country’s IT industry, has partnered IBM for this year’s edition of the competition, with registration open for early-stage startups and entrepreneurs until the end of October.

The competition, executed by ITIDA’s affiliate the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC), is part of the “African App Launchpad” presidential initiative which aims at developing the skills and abilities of 10,000 of Africa’s youth, in addition to offering support to 100 African startups in the field of digital applications and game development.

The competition includes two tracks – application development and game development – with up to US$72,000 worth of prizes to be presented. IBM will help startup companies and next-generation developer communities access a range of its innovations around data and AI with IBM hybrid cloud strategy.

Fifty startups will be selected for the final round of the competition, where they will present their innovative ideas and commercial projects before a panel of judges. The competition will conclude with the announcement of three winners from each category.