This year’s summit was the largest one yet with over 40 speakers from corporates, governmental and non-governmental entities as well as local and international investors and inspiring entrepreneurs. More than 1,000 members of the V-Lab community attended the event, including President Ahmed Dallal, Provost Ehab Abdel Rahman and Dean Sherif Kamel, who provided opening remarks. President Dallal highlighted V-Lab’s achievements over the past 10 years: being awarded top accelerator in Africa, fulfilling its intellectual and community promise and its impactful and sustainable contributions. Provost Abdel Rahman and Dean Kamel underlined V-Lab’s commitment to entrepreneurship education across the region and how they are using it to positively impact lives, communities and economies.

The event highlighted the award-winning V-Lab’s influential role in the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Egypt over the past decade. With a commitment to championing Egyptian entrepreneurs, the accelerator has graduated 356 startups to date, raised $356 million in investments and provided 12K jobs. AUC Venture Lab currently offers five cutting-edge programs, which provide hands-on knowledge, real market insights and valuable access to networks and funds to entrepreneurs all over Egypt.

Ayman Ismail, associate professor, Abdul Latif Jameel endowed chair of entrepreneurship and AUC Venture Lab director, shared his thoughts on V-Lab’s contributions over the past 10 years, 

“It has been a truly thrilling journey for V-Lab and we could not have done it without our community. Since day 1, V-Lab has been about championing Egyptian entrepreneurs. Today, our programs have officially served more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and we have been selected as the top accelerator in Africa. Over the next few years, we are working on expanding our range of services, continuing to work in nascent industries including green economy and AI and collaborating with other stakeholders to drive ecosystem growth.”

In genuine reflection of V-Lab’s commitment to its mission, the Summit featured the selection of Sahar Salama, a co-founder of MENA’s first dragon exit startup TPay Mobile, as the 10^th recipient of the highly-coveted V-Lab Award which is offered to individuals and organizations in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

For details about the event and speakers, visit the summit’s website

The win is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the team members: Hana Khaled, economics major, alongside Jana Khaled, Carol Bedawy, and Raafat Saeed, finance majors, led by their mentor and academic advisor, Wael Abdullah, assistant professor of finance. The team were tested on analytical skills, valuation techniques, report writing and presentation abilities, gaining valuable real-world experience as research analysts.

Janna Khaled expressed;

 “I’m filled with pride to have represented AUC in the MENA region. Competitions are truly a unique learning experience, one that goes beyond the scope of regular coursework. Walking up to that stage knowing that you had to showcase months of effort in 10 minutes was stressful, but the instant recognition of winning was indescribable”. She continued by sharing what the experience taught her, “I learned the ability to craft a financial narrative with a clear objective so that every word resonates with the audience. This journey has given me a real taste of what a financial analyst does in the job market.” 

The journey towards victory began earlier this year in February when the AUC team secured first place in the local competition, the "Egypt Research Challenge 2024," organized by the CFA Society Egypt with the participation of 26 Egyptian universities. Buoyed by their local success, the team embarked on an extraordinary path, culminating in their triumphant performance at the MENA Research Challenge. The prestigious MENA Research Challenge, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), witnessed the participation of 10 university teams from 10 countries, including prominent institutions from Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait, Cyprus, Jordan, and Russia. In the face of fierce competition, the AUC School of Business team displayed unparalleled skills, knowledge and determination, securing the coveted first place.

"This remarkable achievement by our students is a testament to their exceptional talent and unwavering commitment," stated Wael Abdallah, the mentor and academic advisor of the team. "I am immensely proud of Jana Khaled, Carol Bedawy, Hana Khaled Imam, and Raafat Saeed, and their outstanding performance. Their success exemplifies the spirit of excellence and dedication that AUC strives to instill in its students." He also added, " The remarkable achievement of the AUC team contributes to Egypt's growing reputation as a hub for financial research and expertise."

The success is not only a testament to these students, but to the impact and capabilities of AUC students in general who have a remarkable track record of not only participating, but also securing top positions, often finishing in the top three globally.

The 2024 International Case Competition (ICC), organized by El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center (KCC), has revealed the three winners of its sixth edition. 

This year’s competition was held virtually from May 9 – 14, 2024, and allowed undergraduate students to develop and present innovative solutions for a real-world business case study. Emphasizing the importance of sustainability, this year’s ICC case study tackled sustainable finance within Commercial International Bank (CIB) Egypt.

73 teams registered for the competition from 14 different countries, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, Poland, Philippines, Tunisia, Turkey, Serbia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and representing 19 universities. 

All teams attended an exclusive training session on May 9, 2024, by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), KCC’s knowledge partner, with the session titled "The BCG Way: How to Crack Your Case".

Teams were shortlisted and worked on analyzing the case study for 24 hours before presenting their case analysis to a panel of esteemed judges from Leadership Coaching Excellence (LCE) on May 12, 2024.

The top 5 teams re-presented their analysis on May 13, 2024, in front of a panel that included:

• Safa Al Assy, head of sustainability culture & stakeholders’ relations at CIB
• Noah Farhadi, professor of practice and CIB endowed chair, department of management at AUC School of Business
• Marwan ElSayed, associate at BCG Cairo
• Engy Magdy, director of KCC at AUC School of Business

The winners were announced in a closing ceremony on May 14, 2024, featuring the guest speakers:

• Dalia Abdel Kader, chief sustainability officer at CIB
• Noah Farhadi, professor of practice and CIB endowed chair, department of management at AUC School of Business
• Iman Refai, Group CHRO, Estadat Sports Investment 

The winning teams were awarded from a prize pool of $2000!

• Winner: KCCase Breakers from Egypt ($1000)
• 1st Runner-Up: Snacks from Egypt ($600)
• 2nd Runner-Up: LAD from Hungary ($400)