One of the Summit’s highlights was Emeka Afigbo, Strategic Partner Manager at Facebook, speech about the Facebook tools to build and grow the business. Also a key panel discussions featured a distinguished group of experts discussing why start-ups from the Middle East do not scale to Sub-Saharan Africa and vice versa. They gave an overview of both markets, touching on commonalities and differences and some of the challenges of scaling as well as the opportunities for merging both markets. Speakers on the panel included Anthony le Roux, general manager for UBER Middle East & Africa; Sharif El Badawi, partner at 500Startups and David Van Djik; and director general at the African Business Angel Network (ABAN).
Speaking on the Future of Mobility, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty – Head of Operations EMEA at Uber – said: “Today ride-sharing accounts for under 4% of the miles driven globally. Morgan Stanley estimates that number will rise to more than 25% by 2030. Just imagine the possibilities that lie ahead! A better future is within our grasp—it’s one where people share rides and take public transit simply because it’s a better option to owning a car. It’s a future: where people have equal access to affordable transportation; where they spend less of their income on cars or commutes, and less time stuck behind the wheel. I genuinely hope we see this in Cairo sooner rather than later – and so far that is looking more and more like a possibility. “
Abdelhameed Sharara, CEO and founder of RiseUp, assured that “The region’s start-up scene is getting bigger and better each year, and we’re witnessing huge successes, but also a lot of challenges. Start-ups still lack access to funding, talent, know-how, markets and exposure. This is what RiseUp Summit 2016 is offering the ecosystem this year: content that is 100% focused on these top five core needs.”
The RiseUp Summit 2016 content tracks were: CleanTech powered by CleanTech Arabia, Science and Technology powered by MIT Enterprise Forum, the Creative Economy powered by The British Council and FinTech powered by 1864 and Flat6Labs.