Since the 2011 revolution, Egypt has been witnessing a boom in new projects fueled by the enthusiasm of young people, a renewed sense of entrepreneurial freedom, and increased media attention for such initiatives.

To capitalize on this spirit, the House of Business and the Hadath event management company recently launched the Bader entrepreneurship program in Cairo.

The program will act as a focal point for Egypt's entreprneneurship-minded organizations, including civil society, the public and private sectors, media, universities, and banks, to empower Egypt’s youth to discover, develop and employ their creative potential by establishing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in various fields through Bader’s tools and events.

The partners have allocated EGP 500 million (US $74 million) to launch the program which will feature initiatives including:

• Business-plan competitions.
• Introductory tours of entrepreneurship across all governorates of Egypt.
• Youth training sessions on the skills needed to start a business.
• Establishment of tech incubators across the country.
• Creation of entrepreneurial support centers offering advice and technical support to new businesses and startups.
• Promotion of partnerships between the different institutions and sectors across Egypt.
• Establishment of venture capital funds to invest in new startups.
• Organizing groups to work with the government and legislative councils to develop policies to improve the economic and investment climate in Egypt.

"We want to help young entrepreneurs to acquire the needed capital, experience and counseling, and provide them with the incubation they might need to turn their projects and ideas into real and tangible success,” says Walid AlSayed, CEO of the House of Business.

Bader Egypt’s Advisory Board, which evaluates submitted projects and offers advice and guidance for program participants, includes a large number of business owners, politicians, media professionals and corporate leaders, like Wael Fakhrany, Google Regional Manager in MENA, Essam Sharaf, Egypt’s former Prime Minister, and Mohammed AlSawi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AlSawi Water Wheel (Al-Saquia) and Egypt’s former Minister of Culture.

Registration for Bader’s business plan competition is now open, offering participating projects the chance to win cash prizes of up to EGP 150,000, and to be selected for further funding and training. The deadline for registration is April 15, participants can register and find the competition’s terms on their website. Or follow Bader’s upcoming events and latest news on Facebook or Twitter.