3elagi, Proteinea, Paynas, Vlaby winners of 2019 Egypt Transformers Roadshow

24 / 11 / 2019

By Marwa Nassar - -

The 2019 Egypt Transformers Roadshow named 3elagi, Proteinea, Paynas and Vlaby as the winners of the contest for their innovative ideas meant to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

3Elagi won the award for a 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’s winning project was 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 also presented an innovative 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 won the award for its 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.

The Transformers Roadshow is a science, technology and innovation competition held in Cairo and hosted by the Islamic Development Bank. The competition was held under the Patronage of the Egyptian Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and their nationwide initiative Fekretak Sherketak, which is supporting Egyptian youth and entrepreneurs.

Falak startup and EFG-EV Fintech are the Strategic Accelerator Partners of the event.

Seventeen entrepreneurs, scientists and innovators across Egypt vied in the seventh edition of the Transformers Roadshow competition. The projects were assessed according to their support for the Sustainable Development Goals in accordance with several factors, including innovativeness, impact and outreach, practicality, scalability, sustainability, potential for patenting and commercialization.

“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 delighted to be here to support so many excellent initiatives that foster sustainable development at the grassroots level,” Bandar Hajjar, President of the IsDB said.

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 organization’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.

“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,” Hayat Sindi, Senior Advisor to the President IsDB, said.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Dr. Sahar Nasr hailed cooperation between Egypt and the IsDB, especially in the field of small and medium sized enterprises, commending the contest as encouraging entrepreneurs and start-ups to drum up efforts in order to get Egypt to become a regional hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa.

She underlined Egypt’s keenness on enhancing cooperation with international finance institutions, especially in support of entrepreneurship and investments in the fields of technology and innovation, adding that efforts are underway to open up new vistas for other African member and non-member states in the IsDB to spearhead start-ups and innovations as well as injecting investments in human capital. This move will represent a great step forward in the investment and development cooperation across the African continent.