The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) recently held the inaugural meeting of its Advisory Board dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and startups. Led by GAFI CEO Hossam Heiba and Central Authority for Entrepreneurship Director Hossam Abdel Kader, the meeting brought together private sector leaders from Egypt’s vibrant entrepreneurial scene.
Chaired by Mohamed Fahmy of Logic Consulting Group, the council included Samir Al Ali, Chairman of the Business Angels Association and Chairman of financial investment Invista Capital Group, Ahmed Tarek, Chairman of Allianz, Hany El Sonbaty, Managing Partner at Sawari Ventures and co-founder of Flat6Labs, Hanan Abdel Megid, founder and executive partner at Cameraiser Technology, Omar El Metwally, CEO of Sigma Fit, Ahmed El Sherif, CEO of Averroes Ventures, Abdel Hameed Shalala, founder and CEO of RiseUp, Mohamed Ezzat, founder of Bosta, Amr El Abd, CEO of Endeavour Egypt, Mohamed Ehab, Executive Director of entrepreneur support firm Entrac, and Ziad Wafik, founder of Project 2043.
Following the launch of its Entrepreneurship and Startups Division and its digital platform last month, GAFI’s new initiative aims to work with entrepreneurs to address their challenges and incorporate their insights to foster a thriving business environment. An advisory council representing the voice of the private sector will guide the division in developing policies and regulations to foster the growth of startups.
Mohamed Fahmi resonated with the “Egypt Vision 2030” strategy and revealed that an action plan is underway aimed at improving the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Hiba highlighted GAFI’s efforts to work with the Council to instill entrepreneurship within the government framework, streamline the start-up process and forge international partnerships. Additionally, GAFI plans to expand the footprint of its entrepreneur support units across the free zones, starting with new locations in Nasr City and Alexandria.
