Cairo: The Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) welcomed a new cohort of tech startups under the 47th round of its flagship incubation program, Start IT. The program is part of ITIDA's broader mission to empower youth, promote innovation, and accelerate the growth of early-stage technology ventures across Egypt.
According to State Information Service Egypt, Start IT targets aspiring entrepreneurs with ICT-driven ideas, solutions, or prototypes and helps them build scalable, investment-ready startups. The latest cohort intake reflects ITIDA's continued commitment to nurturing a vibrant and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem. The kickoff event featured a networking session bringing together the new cohort and alumni from previous Start IT rounds. The gathering aimed to foster peer learning, knowledge exchange, and cross-collaboration opportunities, reinforcing the program's growing community of tech entrepreneurs under a unified platform.
In a key announcement during the event, ITIDA launched Start IT Perks, an exclusive benefits platform for incubated startups. The platform provides discounted access to premium digital tools and services through partnerships with leading local enablers, including Talents Arena, Sprints, The WhiteGuard, Qayedeny, Camion, Techie Matter, DevisionX, and Zurqa. The goal is to enhance startup efficiency, reduce operational costs, and support accelerated scaling.
As part of the program's continuous enhancement, ITIDA recently announced an expanded incubation package that increases total support per startup to EGP 480,000, up from EGP 180,000. The increase covers both financial grants and in-kind services to strengthen the startups' ability to progress through key development milestones. In addition, support from Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been raised to $10,000 in cloud credits per startup, doubling the previous amount. This upgrade reflects TIEC's strategic focus on equipping startups with cutting-edge cloud infrastructure and services.
To support human capital development within startups, the program also includes dedicated hiring support via partnerships with Talents Arena, Sprints, and Techie Matter, making it easier for founders to access top-tier tech talent and form capable teams. Another new component is specialized AI enablement, which offers targeted training programs and expert-led advisory sessions to empower startups working on advanced digital and AI solutions.
Launched in 2013 by ITIDA through TIEC, Start IT is one of Egypt's longest-standing and most comprehensive tech incubation programs. It targets early-stage entrepreneurs and startups with ICT-based ideas or prototypes and provides a one-year full incubation journey. The program includes financial and in-kind support and services, access to co-working spaces, technical and business mentorship, software and hardware tools, and go-to-market support.