AUC Venture Lab is Egypt’s first university-based accelerator at the Business School of the American University in Cairo (AUC). The lab enables startups to capitalize on AUC’s intellectual capital, world-class facilities and research capacities. It connects innovative startups with AUC’s network that includes alumni, faculty, mentors and investors. Through this, it fosters a thriving ecosystem of innovation, education and responsible business.
The mission of the AUC Venture Lab is twofold: to help Egyptian startups commercialize their innovative technologies and business models into viable ventures that contribute to economic growth, competitiveness and job creation; and to provide a learning and research platform for the AUC community to connect with entrepreneurs.
The 4 months program held twice yearly has already accelerated 233 startups, and delivered +2,300 hours of mentoring by 132 experts. A total amount of +835 million EGP has been generated in revenues, +3 billion EGP has been raised in fundings and + 8,500 jobs created.
In 2021, it was recognized as the Best Accelerator/Incubator Program in North Africa by the Global Startup Awards. Partners include the Arab African International Bank (AAIB), the Danish Arab Partnership Program (DAPP), OXFAM, Mountain View, HIVOS, Shell, Drosos, CIB, IFC, Mastercard, Wamda, Riseup, Injaz, Egypt Innovates, RiseUP Summit, Techne Summit, and Cairo Angels among many others.
