The Farm’s Marie Northington finds enthusiastic entrepreneurs during her travels in Egypt.
I recently traveled to Cairo, Egypt, where I had the opportunity to educate high school students about The Farm, attend the RiseUp Summit, and learn about the entrepreneurial scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
I was invited by my friend Shahd el Lamei to speak to students at École Oasis Internationale, the IB French school where she works. She and the Directrice Générale, Esmat Lamei, want to incorporate innovation and entrepreneurship into their already-diverse curriculum. I spoke to a group of 60 students about The Farm’s outreach efforts, like our Community Hackathon earlier this year and the coding camps we’ve hosted.
Marie speaking to students at a Cairo school
I was surprised by how attentive the students were during my presentation. They asked me questions like, “How many international teams have you had?” and “How do you keep in touch with your international founders after the program?” Hopefully this level of interest will lead them to becoming entrepreneurs themselves!
My next couple days in Cairo were spent at the RiseUp Summit, which is the largest entrepreneurial event in the MENA region. I attended talks by executives at Uber and 500 Startups, participated in workshops run by #SheMeansBusiness, and scouted for companies at the pitch competition.
At the opening of the RiseUp Summit
I was elated to see many women founders and emerging technologies — companies using AI and education, hardware and IoT, and health tech. I was able to introduce The Farm to many Egyptian founders working to take their businesses global.
Are you interested in joining us at The Farm? We value founders across a diversity of backgrounds and technologies who are serious about building successful companies. We’re accepting applications until January 21 — apply now!
