Entlaq: Scaling into Africa is Key for Egyptian Startups in a Maturing Ecosystem
Updated 12/21/2025 9:00:00 AM
Arab Finance: As Egypt’s entrepreneurship landscape continues to mature amid economic challenges and ongoing structural reforms, startups remain a key driver of innovation, job creation, and digital transformation. In 2024, Egyptian startups secured $329 million through 78 funding rounds, maintaining Egypt’s position as Africa’s leading startup hub, according to MAGNiTT’s 2024 Egypt Venture Investment Report.
Among the players actively shaping the startup ecosystem is Entlaq, which contributes through in-depth research, sectoral analysis, and policy-oriented insights that support founders, investors, and decision-makers.
In this context, Arab Finance spoke with Aya Ismail, Co-founder of Entlaq, a Cairo-based think tank and consulting firm. In this interview, Ismail shares her views on Egypt’s investment climate, the evolving challenges facing startups, high-potential sectors, and how Egyptian entrepreneurs can leverage local strengths to scale regionally, particularly across Africa.
1-How do you assess the current investment climate in Egypt?
The current investment environment in Egypt faces some challenges, but opportunities still exist. Over the past period, inflation and the unstable exchange rate were the biggest challenges facing the investment climate. However, following the liberalization of the exchange rate, the market has improved and stabilized significantly.
Additionally, there is a need for certain legislative and structural reforms that would support startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), provide them with facilities, and offer some tax incentives.
As for opportunities, they remain available for entrepreneurs in Egypt, even within the Egyptian market itself, which is large and diverse, with a population of about 120 million people and ample room for many companies to provide services and achieve growth.
I believe that if Egyptian startups focus strongly on external expansion, especially into Africa, this will lead to significant development and improvement in Egypt’s overall investment climate.
2-How can startups effectively contribute to the Egyptian economy?
Startups address real problems, often resolving them with higher efficiency than traditional systems or large corporations. They create numerous job opportunities in technology-driven sectors that enable digital transformation in some traditional sectors, such as agriculture and industry. This is in addition to exporting technology and digital services to neighboring and foreign markets, which is a tangible contribution by startups to the Egyptian economy.
However, I believe the most important contribution startups make is providing alternative solutions to local problems by importing these solutions from abroad and creating employment for a very large segment of the Egyptian population. The more startups are supported, the greater the number of jobs that can be created.
3-What are the biggest structural challenges facing Egyptian startups today, and how have these challenges changed compared to five years ago?
In reality, structural challenges stem from factors beyond our control. The regional situation might contribute to overall economic instability, in addition to other factors like the difficulty of securing early-stage funding. Consequently, investors are often cautious about investing in the early stages of startups. These are the most prominent structural challenges startups are currently facing.
Regarding how challenges have changed over the past five years compared to the present time, a difference has indeed occurred. Five years ago, there was a greater focus on company valuation. Now, there is a greater focus on the actual reality of the companies and their ideas, as well as the sustainability and profitability of these startups.
The entrepreneurship sector has become more mature in general, leading to increased competitiveness among startups entering the market to offer more comprehensive and sustainable solutions.
4-How do you assess the attractiveness of the Egyptian market for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the technology and startup sectors?
The Egyptian market is attractive due to its large population, which accommodates many startups that should inherently attract foreign investment. This is especially true for the technology sector, as Egypt possesses a wealth of technological talent.
Egyptian minds in the technology field are highly advanced within Africa. Furthermore, technology sectors and digital infrastructure in Egypt are growing rapidly, and these are fundamental pillars that generally attract investment.
5-How can Egyptian startups gain a competitive advantage amid significant global competition, especially in the technology sector?
A competitive advantage Egyptian startups can achieve globally is offering solutions tailored to emerging markets like Egypt, while also geared towards expansion into Africa. The African market is immense, comprising 54 countries, and their issues are similar to those in emerging markets like Egypt.
Therefore, these companies must offer genuine, innovative solutions rather than merely copying global models. This will give them a competitive edge that attracts foreign investment, whether in Egypt or for expansion across the African continent.
6-Which sectors do you see as having the greatest potential for growth and transformation in Egypt over the coming years?
The most prominent sectors with opportunities for growth and transformation in the current and coming period include agricultural technology, where untapped opportunities still exist in Egypt and in the case of expansion into Africa.
In addition, renewable and clean energy technology, healthtech, and edtech are among these sectors with significant growth potential, alongside logistics and the digital industry.
Many opportunities in these sectors remain underdeveloped, both in Egypt and Africa. If a startup succeeds in Egypt for five or 10 years and then decides to expand into Africa, it will mark a turning point in the startup's journey.
7-How can Egyptian entrepreneurs make the most of the government’s digital transformation efforts to develop their projects?
The main benefit for startups from the government’s digital transformation is the creation of partnership opportunities with the government. The more the government pursues digital transformation, the greater its need for various digital services that startups can provide to government entities. These services include e-payment, electronic verification, and the digitization of government data.
Ultimately, this improves the citizen experience with public services and increases the opportunities for startups to reach a greater number of citizens, thus accelerating their growth in Egypt.
8-Do you believe local venture capital (VC) funds have sufficient capacity to support startups in the growth and expansion stage?
Local funds are sufficient and important for supporting the growth of companies in the advanced stages. However, securing appropriate investment and sufficient funding in the early stages remains one of the prominent challenges facing startups.
9-When should an Egyptian startup seriously consider expansion abroad, and what are the key indicators of its readiness?
A startup can expand when it has a solid financial model that enables expansion. Besides, it can also expand when it has firmly established itself in the local market and offers its services or products consistently. It should have reached a certain level of stability in its growth.
This enables the startup to replicate the local model abroad in similar markets. The African market is very promising, so it is a major turning point when any startup that has mastered the Egyptian market starts to consider expansion in Africa.
10-Finally, tell us about Entlaq for Entrepreneurship and its future projects.
Entlaq for Entrepreneurship is an Egyptian think tank and consultancy firm whose goal is to support the entrepreneurship sector through research and reports that evaluate Egypt’s entrepreneurship overall, including startups and investment volumes.
Furthermore, we evaluate specialized segments within the entrepreneurship sector, their performance, efficiency, and the opportunities that need more support and have untapped potential, such as fintech, agri-tech, cleantech, renewable energy, and other technology-driven sectors.
Related News
