Startups from Dubai and Egypt walked away with cash prizes after being named winners of the Pitch by the Pyramids event hosted by RiseUp.
Disrupt Africa reported last month 15 startups from across the region had been selected to take part in the first Pitch by the Pyramids event, which is a multi-stage, regional startup pitch organised by the annual RiseUp Summit in Cairo.
This came after startups won a host of regional pitch events, with the finalists then pitching in front of a judging panel at the Great Pyramids of Giza yesterday (December 8).
The Crowd Champion – the startup that received the most online audience votes – was on-demand personal assistant Yanzo from Dubai, which walked away with US$60,000, while Egyptian cloud HR and payroll platform Paynas US$50,000 from early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator 500 Startups.
Palestinian mobile app platform for digital receipts Receet and Lebanese non-food purchasing service for hotels, restaurants and cafes CloudSale received VIP tickets to Dubai Expo 2020 provided by SAP Egypt, as well as a one-year rent-free lease on office space in Dubai through the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA). Egyptian energy management Internet of Things (IoT) system provider Amjaad also received a VIP ticket to Dubai Expo 2020 from SAP, while the remaining 10 startups won regular invitations to Dubai Expo 2020.
All 14 participating startups also received credit worth US$2,000 from Amazon Web Services (AWS).
“Pitch by the Pyramids is a concept we’ve been looking forward to for years – and today, the idea finally came to fruition,” co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of RiseUp Abdelhameed Sharara said. “It all started with a dream to connect ancient innovation with future innovation. Out of almost 1,000 applicants, 139 startups participated and 14 pitched here today.”
