FOLLOW THE LEADER
Enterprise head honchos talk strategy, industry-specific tactics, and professional challenges
Ahmed El Alfi Founder and Chairman Sawari Ventures
“the most important thing is taking care of your people, which involves showing them and having them buy into the path “through the problem, and making sure to be aware of their issues, both individual and business-related.”
IMAGE COURTESY: swari ventures
B
ack in 1990, Ahmed El Alfi founded Hybrid Capital Partners, a private investment partnership, which funded, grew, and exited several successful companies. Two decades later, he decided to further help in transforming Egyptian and other MENA economies by funding technology-based companies, and that led to the establishment of Sawari Ventures, a Cairo-based venture capital firm. Over the years, Sawari Ventures has made 10 investments with an average ticket size of US$ 300,000. In addition, El Alfi is the founder of The GrEEK Campus, a technology and innovation park located on the former American University of Cairo (AUC) campus- at present, 115 startups have made it their permanent base. The early days of these two initiatives were marked with the Arab Spring, a series of protests and demonstrations across the region, and especially in Egypt, in 2011 and 2013. That period, El Alfi says, was filled with some of the most difficult situations he has had to navigate in his entire career. “The most challenging times started in January 2011, and included the subsequent unrest that lasted for a few years,” El Alfi explains. “The most important thing during that period was to look
out for the key people in my organization because then they did the same thing and looked out for other people. In crisis, the most important thing is taking care of your people, which involves showing them and having them buy into the path through the problem, and making sure to be aware of their issues, both individual and businessrelated. At that time, I had a team of 10 people, in addition to our portfolio companies, which we always consider as a part of the team as well. I will never forget what my late father used to say, and that is that you need to deserve the people whom you lead.” Being an entrepreneur, El Alfi knew how to handle dysfunctionalities in the market, and post the Arab Spring, he became even more inspired to support young MENA entrepreneurs and proved instrumental in setting up Sawari Ventures’ next initiative: Flat6Labs Startup Accelerator. Functioning as a hybrid model combining a startup accelerator and a VC fund, thus providing both seed and early/growth stage investments, Flat6Labs now has offices in Cairo, Jeddah, Beirut, Tunisia and Abu Dhabi. “We are currently in five countries and we are looking to expand, maybe to add an additional location in some of the countries we are in and to expand into other countries,” El Alfi says. “I hope that by the end
of this year we will have Ahmed El Alfi, founder and Morocco off the ground, Chairman, and a second location in Sawari Ventures one of the countries we are already present in. We are also looking at Kuwait and Jordan. In 2018, we will start looking to expand outside of the Arab world.” After a few years of witnessing the growth of the MENA startup scene, El Alfi explains that two important changes, both presently occurring, will enable it to evolve into a more mature entrepreneurial proved and the qualifications ecosystem. “Firstly, recogniof the applicants are higher,” El Alfi says. “I like to think tion by the traditional business community that startups that Flat6Labs and other procan become legitimate players grams are having a substantial in the marketplace in the impact in all the countries MENA region,” he says. “That where we operate. We have same perception is happening had applications coming among talented personnel, from 70 different countries, since now you see senior so people relocating from and highly-qualified people India, Russia or Italy to start a leave big corporate jobs to company at Flat6Labs. This is join startups. Both of those because the UAE is perceived are leading to better funding as a good place to start up a for startups. So, I think that company. We have also fundeverything is converging right ed a few companies started by now. In the future, we are goyoung Emiratis and we want to encourage that. We have ing to see more foreign funds just finished an innovation investing, as well as more local funds being formed, higher and ideation training program for the Emirati youth. I was valuations and more high pleasantly surprised by the profile successful companies, and hopefully more startups.” size of the turnout and the quality of the young people Flat6Labs, on average, who came. We should be receives 300 to 500 applicadoing that on a regular basis tions per cycle per location. throughout the various emirThe applications are evaluated on the basis of the teams’ ates, not just in Abu Dhabi.” abilities, the novelty of their As for the future, El Alfi ideas, potential for scaling, is keeping an eye on social and the Flat6Labs team’s fit entrepreneurs. “I continue to with the startup management. appreciate entrepreneurs who The accelerator is known for solve social problems because its founder-friendly terms, they improve the conditions taking 10-15% equity in com- in the market for everypanies against seed funding body,” he concludes. “Social offered, board representation, problems are so deep in our and some basic minority region that it should be easy protection rights. To date, to attack one small section of Flat6Labs has invested in it, but they should make sure 113 companies across Cairo, that they get funding for the Jeddah and Abu Dhabi. “The problem they are solving and quality of the applications they should be very efficient that we are getting has imin their use of capital.”
july 2017 Entrepreneur
21