SEE - July 10: Innovation has no limits, or ends. For Egyptian youth who witnessed but also took part in the uprising of 2011, the ‘hope’ is but sky limit. Many of them proceeded with app ideas, and, over the next seven years, incubators and venture funds mobilized to make those plans into a reality.
A report published by “Forbes” pointed to one of those incubators. A hub called the “Greek Campus” opened in Tahrir Square, as a workspace for startups and gathering point for entrepreneurs. But now, ‘Tatweer Misr’, an Egypt-based property developer, is looking to take this innovative spirit one step further with its new project, Bloomfields. An integrated development located east of central Cairo, it will be modeled as a college town where residents can study, work and live as entrepreneurs. Something that really reminds of “Silicon Valley”.
‘Forbes’ quoted Tatweer Misr’s CEO Dr. Ahmed Shalaby who explained that his company is planning around the future needs of Egypt’s booming youth population. He said 40% of Egyptians are under the age of 17. “Soon they’ll be aging into a youth unemployment rate that hovers around 26.7%, according to government data” he added. He asserted that focusing on entrepreneurship is a practical decision. The next generation “needs to be job creators instead of job seekers,” Dr. Shalaby said.
With this in mind, Bloomfields will not only house entrepreneurs but educate them as well. Egypt has potential for entrepreneur-based workforce, but lacks the educational support required, said the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in a 2016 study. The report found that society had warmed to entrepreneurship and embraced its legitimacy. In fact, the number of Egyptians intending to start a business by 2019 was more than twice the global average. However, at a structural level, there was not a strong educational framework for this trend. Entrepreneurship education at the school stage ranked a 1.67 out of 9, where 1 represented high insufficiency, which was lower than average for Africa.
Addressing this need, Dr. Shalaby planned the centerpiece of Bloomfields to be a new university spanning 25% of the development’s 325 feddans (0.5 square mile). The first building will be a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation. Tatweer Misr is in talks with American universities interested in establishing a branch campus dedicated to this vision. George Washington University recently signed on to be involved with executive education. The developer is still looking for the right fit for the undergrad.
The rest of the development will be comprised of residential and social spaces that foster an innovative community. A section of the residential space will include smaller affordable units for students to live. Outside the apartments will be places to gather and collaborate. “They need executive spaces, co-working spaces, spaces for incubators,” Dr. Shalaby explains. To make sure these spaces are put to good use, Tatweer Misr has partnered with the International Council for Small Businesses, which works to promote management training for small businesses. In addition, employment opportunities outside the community will be easily accessible as Egypt's new Administrative Capital will only be a 15-minute drive away.
Youth bulge can be a huge economic opportunity if potential is met with employment. East Asian countries like Korea and China have capitalized on their young demographics by making sure youth have the best skills to enter the work force. While the Egyptian government has begun to get behind entrepreneurship, projects like Bloomfields show that much of the burden to grow this youth force will fall to the private sector.
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