​Commercial International Bank (CIB) – Egypt celebrated the graduation of the third cycle of the AUC Venture Lab Accelerator, powered by the Bank. The event was held on 14 December, enclosing startup pitches of participants and networking gatherings. 

CIB-Egypt and AUC have come a long way since collaborating to support FinTech startups. Both entities have engaged to gain a thorough understanding of youth needs and the ecosystem in which they operate under, in aim of providing them with the optimal environment to develop their concepts and cultivate their designs.   

The CIB-AUC V-lab FinTech accelerator program lasts a duration of 12 weeks, with CIBians serving as mentors with the AUC V-lab team to ensure enhancing participants’ business and financial models, as well as their marketing strategies. 

The promising FinTech startup pitches included the following: Liqwd, which is an online wallet for users to top up their unwanted products. El-Gam’eya is a mobile application used to organize and manage micro savings and credit (ROSCA model). Swift Card introduces the model of e-commerce business in Egypt by providing Prepaid Card selling in various point of sales and kiosks. 7aweshly is a micro-saving application targeting the millennial generation who has not reached the required age to register under the banking system. Lastly, 3alam fuels with the vision to support struggling working parents with their kids’ education tuition by facilitating them with micro-loans.   

“CIB will continue to avail any support needed to Fintech startups, we are always glad to collaborate with our strategic partners to develop innovative financial technology solutions that will cater to expanding our customer base and speed the country’s financial inclusion rate. CIB's continuous commitment to Fintech startups is a testament to the leading role the bank is playing towards financial inclusion. The Bank strategy towards enhancing the Entrepreneurship ecosystem is in complete alignment with our government’s direction.

,” said Mr. Mohamed Farag, CIB Chief Digital Officer and Head of Global Transaction Services. 

The AUC venture lab is Egypt’s first university-based incubator and accelerator. Its mission is to connect innovative startups in efforts to support and help Egyptian entrepreneurs to commercialize their unique concepts and refine them into ready-for-market business models. In this light, CIB-Egypt and AUC collaborated under a partnership to continue to empower entrepreneurship in Egypt, which led both entities to found the AUC Venture Lab FinTech Accelerator; bridging the gap between the financial services in Egypt and the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem.