Four Egyptian fintech startups have been named finalists in Visa’s Everywhere Initiative, and now have the opportunity to secure US$50,000 in funding.
Visa announced its Everywhere Initiative was expanding to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in June, with the programme designed to encourage the development of fintech startups in the region.
There were 190 entrants to the competition, with 13 startups from across the region being named finalists. They include four companies from Egypt, namely on-demand valet parking app Rakna, ridesharing service Swvl, virtual reality startup VRteek, and bot-building platform WideBot.
These four startups will now compete against innovators from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon, Jordan and Pakistan during the GITEX Technology Week conference in Dubai this week.
One winner per brief will be selected, with each receiving funding of US$25,000. Winners will be invited to a working meeting with Visa, and may be presented with the opportunity to create a prototype. Visa will then select one overall winner to receive an additional US$25,000.
