The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Featured image Savour Ventures

It seems that every day we tell you about a new startup hitting Cairo; indeed, we have recently told you all about how Cairo is growing to become the hottest hub for startups around the region. Among the array of such startups are ones specifically aiming to penetrate the food industry. Today, we are here to tell you about an enterprise that may just help all those Cairenes, who are somewhat of newbies to the food industry, elevate their businesses!

We present to you the first vertical food accelerator in the Middle East: Savour Ventures. Hitting the market in 2017, and “catalysing excellence and innovation in the food value chain”, Savour Ventures provides real support for startups in the food industry. Capitalising on the notion of entrepreneurship, Savour Ventures – an 8-week program – promises investments of up to 50,000 USD of capital funds (in exchange for 15-20% equity in the startups) to carefully selected startups from across the MENA region.

As such, Savour Ventures, with the sponsorship of Creative Startups, partners up with early-stage enterprises, mentors them, and gives them access to workshops on topics related to the food industry. Moreover, Savour Ventures connects startups with investors and gives them the opportunity to bond with a powerful network of more than 80 startup founders. Their prime goal is to assist future business leaders and help them overcome all obstacles. Additionally, Savour Ventures helps startups figure out effective marketing messages, and find out details about possible avenues for profitable retail distribution.

But how does it work? Every season, Savour Ventures filters through 450 applications submitted by startups around the MENA region. Only eight of these startups then get selected to move forward; these startups accordingly get relocated to the main co-working space in Kuwait. Once there, the startups start scaling their businesses. Each week, the startups meet with experts in the food industry. For the final two weeks of the program, the startups work on perfecting their business models and pitches, in preparation for Demo Day. Finally, on Demo Day, the startups present these models and pitches to a handful of potential sponsors and investors. In other words, Savour Ventures condenses a process that may otherwise take years, to only two months!

Catch all the details and information about the application process for the autumn 2019 cohort, on their official website Catch all the details and information about the application process for the autunm 2019 cohort, on their official website. You can also visit their Facebook page and follow them on Instagram.

If you are a Cairene looking to transform the food industry and take it by storm, then surely Savour Ventures should be on your mind!