AUC Venture Lab Hosts Student Startups

BY DEENA EL SAFTY

Startups with innovative ideas that range from belts for the visually impaired to lifestyle applications for mobile phones are currently being incubated at AUC’s Venture Lab (VL).

VL supports young entrepreneurs, incubates their projects and provides them with resources to equip them for market competition.

“The main purpose of [VL] is to commercialize innovations in AUC,” said Sherif Shabana, VL manager.

AUC’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (EIP) in collaboration with Intel launched the VL Challenge; where multiple startup teams apply and compete for incubation at the VL.

“We had over 160 applications, we chose the semifinalists based on their business model and how well-rounded their team is,” added Shabana.

Six startups inccubated at VL’s first incubation cycle which started last month include Mubser, Alkottab, El Shahbandar, Kashef, Zimoro and En2ly.

A belt for the visually impaired is in the making from Mubser.

“We highlighted the problems that the visually impaired can face in our community and we worked on how to eliminate [them] for [the visually impaired],” said Khaled Saleh Mahmoud, Mubser team member.

Mubser’s belt’s main purpose is to use its sensors to notify the user that something is in their path. The belt is connected to a headset using Bluetooth to monitor the path.

“[The visually impaired’s] biggest problem was navigation; they either rely on a stick or another person to guide them,” said Mahmoud.

The team member explained that through the headset, the belt notifies to the user what is in his/her path.

A new mobile lifestyle application, named Zimoro, is one of the startups in the final round.

The application provides its users with lifestyle navigation, alerts on upcoming events, workshops, vacation trips, fashion tips and new hangout spots.

Ahmed Hossny, one of Zimoro’s members, explained that while Facebook ads provide users with a variety of services, those services are scattered.

“We want to keep everything in one place so it could be easier for people to [access] new offers [and find] places to go to in Egypt,” said Hossny.

Alkottab is a startup that aims to create new strategy programs on Facebook in the form of games and cartoons to teach players different life values through entertainment.

Islam Tharwat, Alkottab’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), explained that his team’s startup’s idea was inspired by looking back at the time when people went to Kottab to learn how to read and write.

“Now, we want people to learn different values through games and cartoons while being entertained,” added Tharwat.

Another project, named El Shahbandar, uses web and phone applications to connect stakeholders that participate in spinning and weaving. Parties include factories that sell raw materials as well as dealers and consumers.

“Spinning and weaving have a great history in Egypt,” said Fatma El Esnawy, CEO of El Shahbandar, adding, “we found out that in this field there are many problems facing the workers, therefore we came up with this idea [as

a solution].”

Another startup featured in the competition is Kashef; a team that focuses on machines for mining. The startup studies a prototype called ‘Bastet-1’ which can be used to mine through soil, rock, ice, water and pavements.

Mohamed Gouda, member of Kashef, explained that in a conference held in Croatia in 2012, it was recommended for miners to use equipment that would not touch the ground in order to avoid setting off mines.

“There are many lost resources because of the mining processes in Egypt,” said Gouda.

He added that Kashef’s prototype weighs slightly above a kilogram and does not come in ‘direct contact with the ground.’

He said that the latter leads to the entire process being more safe and remote.

One startup, En2ly, provides a managing system for trucking; the system can be used to track trucks as well as shipments and improve truck utilization.

“Part of our idea came from the fact that trucking in Egypt is 90 percent individual, so our product will help those who are not company-owned with tracking their shipments,” said Hani Waziri, En2ly team member.

In an event called ‘Tinker,’ organized by VL, AUCians as well as non-AUCians can pass by the VL on Mondays to see the projects and provide the young entrepreneurs with feedback on their startups.

Another bimonthly event that the AUC VL hosts is named ‘Feature,’ where non-AUC mentors give participating students feedback on their ideas.

The second incubation cycle is scheduled to start Feb. 2014.