The festival will bring together over 200 investors and venture capital firms from various sectors, along with more than 60 international speakers, while supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The event will be held under the patronage of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in partnership with the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA).
Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship Village founder Summy Smart Francis will serve as president of the Global Entrepreneurship Festival. Baher Mounir Ghabbour, founder of Sakkara Tours, Sonesta Cairo Hotel, and JW Marriott Cairo Hotel, will chair the Egyptian edition of the festival. Ambassador Nabila Makram, a former minister of state for emigration and Egyptian expatriates' affairs, will serve as secretary-general.
The festival aims to strengthen economic cooperation, support startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), encourage manufacturing, promote the exchange of knowledge and expertise, and help build a more integrated economy capable of achieving sustainable development.
According to Hashem, Egypt's hosting of the festival reflects growing confidence in the country's regional and international standing.
He said the event forms part of efforts to boost productivity and support the transition to a more competitive, knowledge-based, technology-driven, and value-added economy.
It also supports Egypt's efforts to strengthen partnerships with SMEs, startups, and industrial investment institutions across Africa and beyond, while reinforcing the country's position as a regional hub for entrepreneurship, industry, and investment.
These efforts are aligned with Egypt’s National Industry Strategy 2030, which aims to increase competitiveness, expand industrial production, address structural challenges in the manufacturing sector, and attract technology- and innovation-related investment.
The strategy also seeks to support sustainable economic growth by promoting production and investment and increasing the industrial sector's contribution to GDP from 14 percent to 20 percent by 2030.
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises accounted for 90 percent of Egypt's private sector in 2024, contributing 43 percent of GDP and employing 75 percent of the workforce.
Startups are newly established companies characterized by rapid growth and flexibility, according to Egypt's Startup Charter. The charter will support 5,000 startups, expand access to international markets, and create around 500,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Hashem said Egypt is one of the region's most promising destinations for industrial investment and entrepreneurship, citing its strategic location, extensive free trade agreements, modern infrastructure, industrial base, and young workforce.
Egypt has been supporting entrepreneurship and startups as a key part of its private sector development strategy and its reform programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The government's broader economic strategy aims to promote private-sector-led growth, with startups expected to contribute 72 percent of GDP by 2030 and a targeted annual GDP growth of 7.5% by 2030.
Separately, Planning and Economic Development Minister Ahmed Rostom and Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Mohamed Ayman Ashour are preparing to launch a roadmap and investment fund to support research projects by students and graduates, according to a joint statement.
The two ministries plan to support startups and university research by helping transform research outcomes into commercially viable projects that address development challenges and grow into medium- and large-sized companies.
The government is considering using the National Investment Bank's (NIB) investment arm, NI Capital, together with the Higher Education Ministry's Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) and its Innovators Support Fund (ISF), to finance projects, link research outputs to the economy, and strengthen cooperation between education, industry, the private sector, and the state.
The initiative forms part of broader government efforts to improve higher education and scientific research, strengthen support for startups, make better use of young Egyptians' skills, and enhance the country's ability to attract venture capital.
It also aligns with the government’s plan to establish an Entrepreneurship unit within the cabinet to coordinate incentives, improve funding, reduce institutional overlap, and facilitate partnerships with startups.
The government is also finalizing plans for an Entrepreneurship Fund and expanding the role of the Egypt Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (EEIC) by launching a Business Clinic to monitor and analyze the challenges facing startups.
Egyptian startups attracted $614 million in funding through direct investment and debt financing in 2025, a 51 percent increase from 2024.
Egypt also plans to increase education spending by 22.5 percent in the 2026/27 fiscal year, which begins on 1 July. Spending on pre-university and technical education will rise by 11.5 percent, while higher education spending will increase by 11 percent.
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