Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) has concluded the Aswan Bootcamp Series, supporting 61 startups from Upper Egypt and helping them collectively secure approximately EGP 200 million (around $3.7 million) in investments.
The program, run in partnership with global innovation platform Plug and Play and hosted at the Digital Egypt Innovation Hub (Creativa) in Aswan, wrapped up on March 30, 2026. It provided participating growth-stage startups with intensive training, mentorship, investor pitching sessions, and access to resources aimed at scaling their businesses.
The initiative forms part of ITIDA’s broader push to decentralize Egypt’s tech ecosystem and extend opportunities beyond Cairo into historically underserved regions like Upper Egypt. By focusing on local talent in governorates such as Aswan, the bootcamp seeks to address regional disparities in funding and infrastructure while fostering innovation in sectors including fintech, agritech, edtech, and digital services.
Eng. Ahmed El-Zaher, CEO of ITIDA, described the bootcamp’s outcomes as evidence of the growing quality of startups outside major urban centers. The EGP 200 million in attracted investment, secured by several participating companies, signals increasing investor confidence in Upper Egypt’s entrepreneurial potential.
The program also reflects Egypt’s efforts to maintain momentum in its startup ecosystem following disruptions to international development funding, including the effective scaling back of certain USAID-supported initiatives. ITIDA has stepped in with domestic resources and partnerships to keep acceleration programs running.
This latest milestone adds to ITIDA’s network of Creativa innovation hubs, which now span multiple governorates. The agency has indicated plans to roll out similar bootcamp-style programs in other regions, including the Nile Delta, as it continues building a more inclusive national innovation pipeline.
For Egypt’s tech scene, the Aswan Bootcamp represents a deliberate bet that nurturing startups in secondary cities can drive broader economic development, create jobs, and reduce the heavy concentration of talent and capital in the capital. With tangible investment results already emerging, the program offers an early validation of that strategy.
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