Arab Bank recently launched the second edition of its FinTech Bootcamp for entrepreneurs in Egypt, following the success of its first edition last year.
The launch of the second edition, organized by “AB Accelerator” in Egypt, comes as part of the bank’s strategic efforts to foster and support innovation in the FinTech sector towards offering responsive and agile banking solutions in line with the evolving needs and expectations of customers across different segments.
Participating startups enrolled in an intensive one-week bootcamp that took place between the 18th and the 22nd of September, 2022, through which they were able to develop their ideas and refine their skills by testing their proposed solutions and validating their relevance and feasibility in the market. The bootcamp workshops were led by entrepreneurs, investors, experts from the FinTech industry as well as veteran bankers at Arab Bank Egypt, ensuring delivering the relevant experience and knowledge to the participants.
The bootcamp concluded with a demo day where startups pitched their solutions to a panel of judges comprised of Arab Bank senior management in addition to independent investors. Three winners were selected and received cash rewards to continue developing their ideas and building their solutions. “Haktiv” received the first-place prize of EGP 100,000 while “Credify” received the second-place prize of EGP 75,000 and “Receety” came in third with a EGP 50,000 prize.
The “AB Accelerator” program aims to accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies and solutions within Arab Bank, and support entrepreneurs with the opportunity to scale their market ready FinTech startups across the MENA region. Driven by this objective, the “AB Accelerator” program works to integrate into Egypt’s startup scene through investing in early-stage startups specialized in FinTech that demonstrate strategic alignment with Arab Bank’s vision in fostering innovation.
Commenting on the launch of the second edition, Habiba Helmy, Innovation Lead at Arab Bank – Egypt, said: “Through the FinTech Bootcamp, we seek to support entrepreneurs and startups through connecting them with mature FinTech founders and relevant Arab Bank stakeholders for guidance and knowledge exchange based on the experts’ solid experience and challenges witnessed over the years in this sector.” Helmy added: “Arab Bank continues to focus on carrying out initiatives that aim at building the capacity of entrepreneurs in Egypt and seeks to create long-term relationships with the founders through offering continued support. The bank continues to follow up with startups that participated in its first edition last year, which witnessed distinctive turnout and success. The launch of the second edition aimed at supporting startups through offering them the resources, workshops and mentorship needed to develop their ventures further and sharpen their entrepreneurial skills”
Arab Bank’s presence in Egypt started in 1944. Currently, the bank has 44 branches located in main cities and governorates across Egypt. Arab Bank has one of the largest global Arab banking networks with over 600 branches spanning five continents.
