Egypt's Ministry of International Cooperation has partnered with the Netherlands embassy in Cairo and Alexbank to launch the entrepreneurial programme "Orange Corners Egypt". Orange Corners Egypt is an initiative of the Netherlands that provides young entrepreneurs with training, networks, and facilities to start and grow innovative businesses. The initiative consists of two separate incubation programmes – one in Cairo and one in Upper Egypt (Assiut) – each of which offers recurring 6-month training cycles for 15-25 entrepreneurs at a time. The entrepreneurial training pays special attention to startups in agriculture and the creative sector, and ensures a minimum of 50% participation of female entrepreneurs. Under the patronage of the Ministry of International Cooperation, Orange Corners Egypt will be able to connect the enrolled entrepreneurs more easily with follow-up opportunities within the Egyptian entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Ministry will support the implementing partners of the programme in identifying the untapped opportunities where innovative ideas can contribute to Egypt's development across different sectors while achieving the SDGs. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, said, "Egypt's youth are the driving force of our nation. Only by involving, empowering and enabling them, we will be able to achieve real strides towards sustainable development. 2021 is the year of private sector engagement: we are pushing towards the national development agenda through public-private partnerships that foster the sustainability ethos and spread it across several sectors; especially the entrepreneurial scene." Alexbank, one of Egypt's largest banks, will join the programme as a main private sector partner. It will support the programme with an annual financial contribution and in-kind support including master-classes and mentorship for participating entrepreneurs. Dante Campioni, CEO of Alexbank, said, "Our participation in the Orange Corners initiative by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in association with the Ministry of International Cooperation is driven by our strong belief in Egypt's startup scene. Egypt is a country of talented youth seeking the opportunity of becoming entrepreneurs, and the Orange Corners model can certainly contribute to fulfil this wish by bringing also to Egypt a well-experienced startup framework. What's more, we are excited to see the program hosting chapters in two distinct and vibrant regions of Cairo and Upper Egypt, thus offering a truly inclusive approach. We're also particularly happy that the programme can provide opportunities in the field of agribusiness and agritech, giving the chance to a new generation of entrepreneurs to venture into the evolution and integration of the agricultural sector that is so important to Egypt." Han-Maurits Schaapveld, Ambassador of the Netherlands, said, "Young Egyptian entrepreneurs are the oxygen of Egypt's economy. Therefore, we are very excited to collaborate with the Ministry of International Cooperation and Alexbank to provide essential support for entrepreneurs to further develop their skills and ideas through Orange Corners Egypt." The entrepreneurial training in Egypt is conducted by Egyptian service providers Cultiv in Cairo and Outreach Egypt in Upper Egypt. The first training cycles kicked off in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021.
