Endeavor Selects 15 High-Impact Entrepreneurs from 9 Countries at the 86th International Selection Panel in Cairo, Egypt

Endeavor selected 15 high-impact entrepreneurs leading 12 companies from 9 countries at the 86th International Selection Panel (ISP) in Cairo, Egypt, held March 13-15, 2019, and hosted by Endeavor Egypt. Endeavor now supports 1,840 entrepreneurs leading 1,153 companies in 34 markets around the world.

The ISP is the culmination of a rigorous multi-step selection process to identify innovative and driven entrepreneurs who demonstrate the potential to leverage Endeavor’s resources and mentorship to create large-scale wealth and jobs, and are committed to reinvesting their time and money in their local entrepreneurship ecosystems to help others take off and make an impact.

Over the course of the three-day event, panelists drawn from Endeavor’s extensive network of board members, mentors, supporters, and experienced Endeavor Entrepreneurs, interview entrepreneur candidates about their businesses, evaluating them on their potential for high-impact growth, and deliberating on which candidates should be selected to become Endeavor Entrepreneurs. Panelists must vote unanimously for a candidate to become an Endeavor Entrepreneur.

“The entrepreneurs and companies selected at the Cairo ISP are a true testament to Endeavor’s founding belief that high-impact founders are innovating and scaling up all around the world,” said Endeavor Co-founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg. “Thank you to members of Endeavor’s global network who donated their time and expertise as panelists, and congratulations to the newest Endeavor Entrepreneurs!”

Once selected, Endeavor Entrepreneurs gain access to comprehensive customized services, including introductions to local and international business mentors and volunteers from Fortune 500 consulting firms who will help them address key needs.

Endeavor Entrepreneurs have had a significant track record of impact. Endeavor Entrepreneurs have created 1.5 million jobs, generated $15 billion in revenue in 2018, and help build sustainable growth models in their home countries.

Endeavor thanks Inertia, Baraka Retail Group and Egypt Ventures for their generous sponsorship of the ISP.

In 2019, ISPs will be held in Madrid (April 24-26), Tokyo (July 1-3), Quito (August 5-7), Atlanta (September 23-25), Istanbul (October 21-23), and Riviera Maya (December 11-13). For more information on these events, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about the companies and entrepreneurs selected in Cairo below:

BULGARIA

Entrepreneurs: Georgi Georgiev and Angel Ivanov
Company: Skapto
Description: Skapto is Bulgaria’s largest gourmet burger chain serving handcrafted, American-inspired burgers in a fast-casual dining environment. Skapto’s restaurants offer an imaginative menu of cooked-to-order burgers, made fresh from house-made ingredients and topped with Skapto’s secret spices and sauces. Skapto currently operates three full-service restaurants and two over-the-counter locations throughout Bulgaria, in addition to one food truck and two dark kitchens for delivery. Skapto has won numerous awards for product excellence and earned the #1 and #3 rankings for two of its restaurants in Sofia on TripAdvisor (out of 1.2K+ restaurants), and the #1 restaurant spot in Plovdiv (out of 300).

EGYPT

Entrepreneur: Ameer Sherif
Company: WUZZUF & Forasna (BasharSoft)
Description: BasharSoft connects Egyptian job-seekers with career opportunities through two platforms, Wuzzuf and Forasna, which cater to both the white collar and blue collar labor markets. BasharSoft works with over 27,000 employers and over 2 million job seekers and has facilitated 250,000 job placements to date.

Entrepreneurs: Marwan Kenawy, Momtaz Moussa and Ayman Essawy
Company: Dsquares
Description: With consumer preference in the Middle East shifting towards cost efficiency and away from brand allegiance, advertisers seek solutions to cultivate customer loyalty. Dsquares offers two end-to-end, white-label customer loyalty programs that enable brands to reward customers through loyalty points and promotions.

GREECE

Entrepreneur: John Tsioris
Company: InstaShop
Description: InstaShop’s is an online grocery shopping marketplace that gives traditional retailers access to an untapped revenue channel, while consumers gain access to convenient on-demand delivery from their favorite local grocery stores. InstaShop allows users to shop at over 400 local supermarkets directly from their mobile or computer and receive their order at home within 30-60 min or at a scheduled time. InstaShop’s user-friendly interface and dedicated customer service team has made one of the highest-rated apps in the space.

ITALY

Entrepreneur: Giorgio Tacchia
Company: Chili
Description: Chili is a comprehensive entertainment-centered marketplace for movie and TV fans, offering audiences the latest information and articles on upcoming films, geo-localized cinema ticket booking, a catalog of thousands of first-release digital titles on-demand from any internet-enabled device, and a marketplace of original film merchandise. Chili counts five major Hollywood production studios as shareholders and partners, and currently serves more than 2M users across five major European markets as it continues rapid international growth.

Entrepreneur: Riccardo Ocleppo
Company: Docsity
Description: Docsity is an online, global platform for students to access and share resources with their peers to collectively do better in their university classes. Founded in 2012, Docsity provides students with quality resources that are inexpensive and accessible through a seamless web-based platform. Utilizing its global user-base of over 6 million students across Italy, Spain, Brazil, Russia, India and LatAm, Docsity specializes in recruitment and promotion for universities, providing tailored marketing solutions to boost awareness and enrollment rates.

JORDAN

Entrepreneur: Tamer Al-Masri
Company: Jobedu
Description: Jobedu is a Jordanian pop-culture fashion brand that designs and manufactures its own collection as well as “Arabized” products for global entertainment companies like Disney, Warner Bros, Universal Studios, and Viacom.

LEBANON

Entrepreneurs: Elie Nasr
Company: FOO
Description: With a 65% mobile penetration rate and 86% of adults categorized as unbanked, the Middle East FinTech market is ripe for innovation. FOO is a B2B FinTech provider, enabling banks and startups to process their end customers’ peer-to-peer payments, overseas remittance payments, bill payments, and loan applications. It also provides an online digital banking platform for any financial institution seeking digitization.

Entrepreneur: Nadine Haram
Company: Proximie
Description: Proximie is a telehealth platform for medical professionals, hospitals, universities, and surgical associations to share information through publications and live streams of surgeries. The medical associations and medical schools purchases the platform through a SaaS, per-user, subscription model for surgical guidance, continued learning, sharing of best practices, and enhancing the surgical training experience for students and doctors alike. Proximie also sells its license to medical device companies that wish to train their customers on how to use the devices. Rather than conducting on-site training, the hospitals purchase the platform as part of the medical device training package to virtually train the end-user on using the device.

NIGERIA

Entrepreneur: Bukky George
Company: HealthPlus
Description: With one in five medicines in circulation estimated to be substandard or fake, HealthPlus Group brings Nigerians pharmacy and beauty products they can trust. Between HealthPlus, a chain of pharmacies, and CasaBella, a chain of beauty stores; the company has almost 90 retail outlets across Nigeria, employs over 750 people and is the largest employer of pharmacists who dispense medicines, provide counseling and perform free health screenings. By protecting the strict integrity of its supply chain, and self-regulating by adopting world-class standards; HealthPlus provides consumers with safe, affordable and convenient access to medicines and related products. HealthPlus has become a household name and is transforming retail pharmacy in Nigeria with the launch of an e-commerce platform and the set-up of a pharma distribution center which will be a model for drug distribution across Nigeria.

SAUDI ARABIA

Entrepreneur: Abdulmajeed AlYemni
Company: Salasa
Description: Salasa is a leading Third Party Logistics Company providing e-commerce fulfillment service in the Middle East. We offer total solutions for your e-commerce needs and manage your complete logistics value chain. Our fulfillment services offer a cost-effective way to store your products without adding to overhead costs. Salasa provides superior pick-up and pack services with multiple shipping options that keep your products moving fast while reducing operational expenses. Salasa provides you with the peace of mind to focus on the task ahead: taking your e-commerce to the next level.

SPAIN

Entrepreneur: Octavi Uyà
Company: Nautal
Description: Nautal is a boat rental marketplace that allows vacationers to browse over 24,000 options, from sailboats to yachts to houseboats for trips lasting from half a day to a week. Most boats on the platform belong to European charter fleets. Through identity and registration verification, Nautal guarantees that boats on its platform are as advertised. Recently, the company acquired Greek competitor, Incrediblue, which will function as its luxury brand. With this acquisition, Nautal now features over 90% of European charter yachts.