The biggest Swedish delegation to date participated in the Middle East’s largest entrepreneurship event, RiseUp Summit, which gathers entrepreneurial stakeholders from around the world. The Embassy of Sweden in Cairo partnered with the Swedish Institute and Enpact to help support the engagement of more than 30 participants, including a dozen Swedes as well as 20+ female entrepreneurs from the region who graduated from the Swedish Institute’s She Entrepreneurs programme. Swedish delegates shared know-how in more than five speaking engagements, including panels and talks on themes such as technology and creativity.
More than 200 stakeholders, including investors and entrepreneurs, also gathered for the summit’s kickoff investors’ reception at the residence of the Swedish Ambassador in Cairo, in collaboration with RiseUp and regional venture capital firm Wamda Capital.
“Egypt’s young population is dynamic and energetic, and has managed to really create a unique entrepreneurial scene which is starting to gain recognition globally,” said Mr. Jan Thesleff, the Ambassador of Sweden to Egypt. “Given that Sweden often tops the rankings when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship, collaboration in these fields is natural and has really gained momentum over the last few years.”
Background
Sweden is a country with a strong history of entrepreneurial success. The Innovation Union Scoreboard, an index published by the European Commission, continuously ranks Sweden as the leading EU country for innovation. Reasons for this include a historic tradition of inventors, a commitment to gender equality and a strong belief in the individual. Close collaboration between research institutes and the private and public sectors is another key factor, setting the foundation for global Swedish companies like AstraZeneca, Ericsson and Volvo.
The Embassy of Sweden in Cairo has had many successful exchanges with Egypt in the field of entrepreneurship since 2013 and has also been collaborating with RiseUp since 2016, connecting the Egyptian and Swedish entrepreneurship ecosystems and positioning Sweden as an innovative partner with Egypt. The Embassy of Sweden in Cairo, the Swedish Institute and Enpact Egypt were content partners in this year’s edition of RiseUp.