17 countries represented at RiseUp Summit 2014 in Cairo

Representatives and delegations from 17 different countries will be participating at the RiseUp Summit, Egypt’s largest gathering for the entrepreneurship ecosystem, which will take place this year from October 12^th – 14^th at The GrEEK Campus in downtown Cairo. The countries represented will be the UK, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Denmark, Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and India. The individuals and groups from these countries are participating as a variety of different organizations including co-working spaces, investment funds, incubators and consultants.

Investor delegations include representatives from Playfair Capital in the UK, Hoxton Ventures in the UK, 3ts Capital in Turkey, and Venture Scout in Denmark. They will be participating in a one-day pitching event, the Investor Lounge, organized by StartUp MENA, aiming to promote Egyptian start-ups to international investors. These start-ups will have the opportunity to pitch live on stage in front of a panel of seasoned investors, including ten of the biggest European VCs.

“Sustainability is one of the primary challenges for entrepreneurs today,” said Ahmed El Afli, investor. “The path to success is a difficult one, and entrepreneurs need to learn to collaborate, interact and network in order to build and sustain their businesses. What we are seeing here at the RiseUp Summit in Cairo is so refreshing and inspiring, and gives us a tremendous feeling of hope and positivity for this region’s entrepreneurs and youth.”

 There will be 15 different co-working spaces from Egypt and around the world attending the Co-Working Know-How Camp from October 10^th – 16^th, where participants are helping each other to succeed in making co-working a more sustainable business.

  “We’re excited to be here in Egypt, at this incredible gathering for entrepreneurs,” said Georg Demmer, founder of Austria’s Co-Space. “The future of entrepreneurship is going to be increasingly about collaboration and interdependence among not just the entrepreneurs themselves, but the entire ecosystem of partners, investors, mentors and service providers. That’s why co-working spaces play a critical role in supporting and developing entrepreneurship around the world.”

 The summit’s opening ceremony will be at 5:00pm on Sunday, 12^th of October. The two-day agenda on October 13^th and 14^th will include over 40 workshops, 16 panel discussions, three round tables, four keynote speeches, in addition to pitch events, talks and the INJAZ Trade Fair.