By ; Nelly All

The Islamic Development Bank has awarded four innovators as part of its seventh edition of the Transformers Roadshow competition in which applicants are invited to pitch ideas accelerating one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event was attended by HE. Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank, HE Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation for the Government of Egypt on behalf of the Prime Minister of Egypt and Dr. Hala El Said, Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform and IsDB Governor for the Government of Egypt. Applicants, participants and the honourable guests were also welcomed at the The GrEEk Campus in Cairo by Dr. Hayat Sindi, Senior Advisor to the IsDB President, Science, Technology and Innovation. Launched in July 2018, the Transformers Roadshow is one of the initiatives led by the IsDB’s $500m Transform Fund set up to support the organisation’s strategic focus on human capital development by encouraging science, technology and innovation. Previous editions took place in Bosnia and Herzegovinian, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Niger, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. The competition, which was organised in partnership with Falak Startups – Egypt’s largest startup accelerator - attracted seventeen entrepreneurs, scientists and innovators across Egypt. Each project was assessed on their alignment with how they supported the Sustainable Development Goals and marked against criteria including factors such as innovativeness, impact & outreach, practicality, scalability, sustainability, potential for patenting and commercialisation. The shortlisted teams presented their ideas to an esteemed judging panel from public and private sectors. The winners of the 2019 Egypt Transformers Roadshow are: • 3Elagi – for their project on supporting healthcare users in Egypt with a vision to facilitate the search evaluation, selection and acquisition of healthcare services through a single technology platform. • Proteinea – for their project on the food value chain, that uses insects that are fed on inorganic waste. The insects are then used to replace fish meal in aquaculture and animal feeds in agriculture through a more sustainable and environmental insect base protein. • Paynas – for their project on hassle free banking, streamlined HR management, affordable medical insurance and employee benefits tailored to the needs of SMEs all based on a cloud platform and service. • Vlaby – for their virtual lab’s platform that allows school students and teachers to perform all experiments in an interactive online environment that simulates the traditional lab. The creation has all the equipment and chemicals that would come in a standard lab plus digital customization for each student according to their curriculum. Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, stressed on the great importance the ministry gives to entrepreneurship, alluding to the cooperation with the IsDB on various projects for SMEs. This initiative, she said, is of particular importance because it supports entrepreneurs and start-ups with the goal of making Egypt a regional hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa. Dr. Sahar stated that Egypt is keen to enhance its cooperation with international finance institutions especially in support of entrepreneurship and investments in technology and innovation in Egypt and Africa. This is in order for Egypt to align its strategies with global best practices, as well as opening up new opportunities for start-ups and innovators, and investment in human capital, in other African member and non-member states in the IsDB. This move will represent a great step forward in the investment and development cooperation across the African continent. Dr. Hala Said, Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform, and Governor of Egypt for the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) thanked the IsDB for organizing the competition and the positive direction it has been taking, to support new ideas, motivate innovators and entrepreneurship, in addition to connecting them with the business community. This gives them access to the needed financing to turn their innovative ideas to real life projects, which contributes to creating job opportunities. This direction reinforces the efforts done by the bank’s member states to achieve holistic and sustainable development. The Minister added that it is no longer optional to tackle knowledge and investment matters in science and technology; on the contrary, it has become a necessity due to economic and social developmental challenges worldwide, especially with the rise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. She emphasized that Egypt heavily and specifically focuses on investing in technology, encouraging innovation and supporting entrepreneurship. The country is also keen on creating a business climate for young innovators and entrepreneurship, through encouraging the mindset and providing the needed financing for their projects and initiatives. Moreover, Egypt is expanding the presence of incubators, which is one of the main pillars of the policies, programs and job opportunities of the sustainable development strategy: Egypt Vision 2030. H.E. Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the IsDB said: The IsDB has long held a close relationship with Egypt. The country has been an active member of the IsDB from the beginning with Group supporting many of the country’s development since 1974. Science, technology and innovation is an integral pillar of the Bank’s strategy, so I am I am delighted to be here to support so many excellent initiatives that foster sustainable development at grassroots level.” Dr Hayat Sindi, Senior Advisor to the President IsDB, said: “We are overwhelmed by the depth and insight presented today by all of the participants. We are proud to support and empower those who will change the future of Egypt and beyond through science, technology and innovation. I would like to congratulate all winners and encourage everyone else who has great ideas supporting sustainable future for all, to apply to our Transform Fund which will be open for applications in April 2020.” As part of their recognition winners of the seventh edition of the Transformers Roadshow have been awarded US$3,000 and an invitation to attend the IsDB’s 2019 Transformers Summit in Senegal. The Transformers Summit 2019 will bring together a coalition of entrepreneurs, innovators and global leaders to discuss the role of science, technology and innovation in addressing some of the development challenges faced in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and specifically SDG 11 – sustainable cities and communities – and will cover off topics such as climate change, transport, public spaces, education and health.