Egypt is poised to turn into Africa's hottest tech scene, but 2 industry veterans say the country is up against 2 major challenges

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Thanks to a young internet-connected population and long-stagnant problems, Egypt has become a hot spot for tech in the Middle East and Africa.

The value of the currency, Antaki told me, makes it hard for Egyptian startups to compete for talent with better-capitalized ventures in the United Arab Emirates, the US, or Europe. If a talented engineer can work outside the country and be paid three times what he or she would make in Egypt, it's likely he or she would take the opportunity.

"That represents a massive community of talent. And it's being taken into Germany, Dubai, China, and the U.S. That brain drain is taking away the most important pillar of our ecosystem," Sharara said.The second major issue facing Egypt's tech scene is the country's bureaucracy, which makes it difficult to set up companies, obtain permits, and do valuations similar to other tech ecosystems around the world.

"If you want to set up a startup in Egypt, legally it is very difficult," Antaki said."It is difficult if you want to raise money because the government doesn't really understand how startups do valuations. And the laws are not very clear. It's not easy to give stock options or equity." To get around the issue, according to Antaki, many Egyptian companies place their headquarters in places with less onerous regulations. A15, the firm Antaki runs, is headquartered in the Cayman Islands.Antaki is part of an industry group that is working with Egypt's Ministry of Finance to loosen regulations and help them better understand the country's tech ecosystem.

." Put together by nearly 200 players in Egypt's tech scene with experience in venture capital, legal, accelerators, and entrepreneurs, the manifesto is designed to clearly illuminate the problems facing the industry — like brain drain and bureaucracy, among others — and its potential solutions.

 

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