Innoventures CEO, Hesham Wahby, announced December 6 the launch of a new 30 million Egyptian pound (US $1.6 million) fund, Innoventures Fund 1, for the financing of startups.

He also announced the launch of a new workspace in Alexandria, IdeaSpace-Borg, in collaboration with Innoventures, Eitesal and the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT).

In the third round of Innoventures’ competition called Reactor, three startups won prizes up to 10,000 euros (US$10,500). The competition was organized in partnership with VC4Africa platform to support startups in Africa and the region.

Stating that they will invest in both early and growth stage startups Wahby told Wamda that there were no clear plans regarding the ceiling of investment and that it would depend on each company and the share percentage. He announced that they would also be soon inviting other startups to apply for investment.

He also explained that they will not be targeting a specific sector. “Our biggest concern is the team and their ability to develop and work hard with limited resources,” he said.

“The winning startups have our commitment towards providing them with investments either by networking with investors or directly from us,” said Nourhan Ghanem, acceleration program manager at Innoventures.

The winning startups  

Zerowaste Technologies who work on developing waste management, water preservation and low power consumption technologies took first place. It received 5,000 euros (US$5,280) for its soda can recycling project CanBank.

Second and third places went to Tripdizer, a travel booking platform, and Perligos who, using big data and analytics, track reviews and ratings for company clients, creating insights on customer satisfaction.

They received 3,000 and 2,000 euros respectively.

The 10 startups that reached the final stage will get another pitching opportunity during RiseUp Egypt currently being held at the Greek Campus until December 11.

Out of 25 teams that had applied 10 got to complete the three month program. They received services such as a workspace, legal registration, legal consultancy, business management and development, business model advice, and networking with investors and mentors.

“We profited a lot from the Reactor acceleration program,” said Ahmed Wafik, COO of Zameal, who make and deliver healthy meals, who still have five months with the program.

Also speaking at the demo day was Careem’s director in Egypt, Wael Fakharany. “I expect 2017 to be full of success for startups in Egypt, regardless of the economic conditions. I hope developers and small company owners turn the big problems Egypt is facing in practical solutions.”

Other competing startups were:

Utmost - a services trading platform, minus the money.

Mageera VR - creating marketing solutions through VR.

Cinema 360 - allows a user to sit in a swivel chair and use VR headsets to turn freely and watch a movie in 360 degrees.

Onyx Rooms - partnering with budget hotels they take a number of rooms and standardize them.

Auto Splendor - creators of modern interior car accessories.

Feature image via Innoventures.