For Egypt's Startups, Unstable Government Is the Least of Their Worries

February 28, 2014 11:09 AM

Egyptian startup culture vs. Silicon Valley: how to lock down bugfixes & VC funding in midst of military takeover? Via
posted by infini (4 comments total)

Thanks, this is an interesting article I would have missed. I can't imagine how much tougher it must be to start up when there is so much external uncertainty. The internal uncertainty is overwhelming already.

One missing side of the polygon that is the start-up ecosystem this article mentions is the successful companies and entrepreneurs that stick around by going public, and in turn become mentors, acquirers and sometimes investors. If successful companies keep have the option to leave Egypt for elsewhere like the U.A.E., Europe or even the U.S., (or their companies are acquired by foreign buyers) that return path never develops.

That's not a problem unique to Egypt by the way. Established start-up hotspots like "start-up nation" Israel and even "Silicon Alley" New York sometimes decry that their most successful start-ups tend to be acquired rather than remain independent. I can't imagine the situation in Egypt helps.
posted by 2bucksplus at 12:59 PM on February 28, 2014

Huh. It's almost like a functional civil society and infrastructure is worth money.
posted by Uncle at 1:48 PM on February 28, 2014

Startup Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East - "Fascinating look at intersect of tech innovation, entrepreneurship, and political change in modern Middle East. I think same book could be written now about Central & South America, Southeast Asia, China, India, Africa. Things are changing fast." /pmarca plug

also btw Eric Schmidt & Jared Cohen talk a bit about technology and government (starts @16m mark) in The New Digital Age
posted by kliuless at 2:22 PM on February 28, 2014

Mobilizing money from Wealthy Families in Peru & Latin America And Why Family money is Not Angel money—Day #3 in Lima, Peru
posted by infini at 12:38 AM on March 2, 2014