Tatweer Misr Launches the 4th Round of The Tatweer Misr Innovation Competition with a COVID-19 Spin

As part of Tatweer Misr’s ongoing commitment to support young calibers and enhancing the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the real estate developer is launching the 4th round of The Tatweer Misr Innovation Competition, providing Egyptian youth with an opportunity to pitch solutions that have a potential to revolutionize the real estate sector.

In cooperation with Innovety and with the support of The Greek Campus as its Community Partner, this year’s round is a continuation of Tatweer Misr’s success throughout the competition that kicked off back in 2017. The annual challenge supports selected applicants throughout the course of the competition with a number of training and mentorship opportunities that help them further develop their solutions from both technical and business angles.

With One-on-One mentorship sessions & monetary prizes totaling up to EGP 350,000, this year’s round will have three winners from two tracks available; one from the startup track with a grand prize of EGP 250,000, and another two winners from the ideation track which targets university students or graduates with innovative ideas with total prizes for this category of  EGP 100,000.

The winners of the competition will be announced on the 14th of June during a pitch night taking place at the Greek Campus where contestants will present their ideas in front of the jury members including: Ahmed El Alfi, Founder and Chairman of The Greek Campus, Mohab Anis, Founder and CEO of Innovety, Nabil El Gohary, Chairman of Spectrum Engineering Egypt, Reem El Saady, Regional principal Manager of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Rafeh Saleh, Founding Partner of Cubit Ventures. The panel discussion will include: Chantal Sabbagh, Deputy General Manager of National Bank of Egypt, Sherif Hosny Founder and CEO of Schaduf, Rasha Tantawy, Head of Entrepreneurship TIEC,ITIDA and Loay El- Shawarby, Principal of El- Shawarby Attorneys-at-law and moderated by Moustafa Khater, Founder and CEO of Cubitcode. Furthermore, the pitch night shall host a number of leading entrepreneurs from different industries along with representatives from incubators making it a one-stop-event for rising entrepreneurs.

Adapting to “The New Normal”, this year’s round encouraged applicants to submit solutions that take into account the new circumstances in the real estate sector as a result of the COVID-19 outburst, which derived a need for digital products and processes, changes in spending patterns and a more health-conscious consumer. Applicants can submit Innovative New Normal Solutions, associated with challenges and opportunities driven by the pandemic, or Innovative Business Solutions, by submitting innovative business models that allow for diverse revenue streams and tackling the emerging needs of the market. The final submission is Innovative Technology Solutions where they utilize technological innovations to address certain challenges in the market.

The fourth round has received over 750 applications. Solutions ranged from technological innovations in construction, architecture, energy consumption and waste management to digital innovations in e-commerce, fintech, facilities management, and marketing, all catering to the enhancement of the real estate industry. Qualified applicants demonstrated remarkable innovation, sustainability and a proven positive impact on the real estate sector.

This year’s edition consists of five main stages. Starting with a 6-week period for outreach, both online and offline, and in collaboration with many universities and co-working spaces and several relevant institutions. A filtration process that ensured relevancy and compatibility with the existing criteria was the second step. A 2-day eye-opener and a 5-Day boot camp were then in place where applicants received the necessary mentorship and advice to excel in their ideas and prepare for pitch night. During which, another filtration stage took place to determine the 10 finalists that will make it to the final stage; the pitch night which will take place on the 14th of June, where they have an opportunity to network and present their ideas to a group of prominent judges, panelists and audiences.