Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) is set to launch a US$100 million venture capital (VC) fund in 2016, in a bid to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in the country’s ICT sector.
Speaking to Disrupt Africa, ITIDA said the agency plans to launch one or more VC funds across the year, in collaboration with the Social Fund for Development (SFD) and the private sector, to invest in ICT-oriented startups. The fund will have an initial capital of US$100 million.
The agency has also allocated a further EGP50 million (US$6.3 million) to build up two innovation clusters near universities outside the Greater Cairo area, with sites preliminarily identified in the Upper Egypt and Delta regions or the Suez Canal.
ITIDA is intended to act as a catalyst within the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and the agency said initiatives aimed at “stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship in the ICT sector” form its key focus areas going forward.
