Entreprenelle, an Egyptian social enterprise that aims to empower women economically through awareness and education concluded the third edition of its annual women entrepreneurship event SheCan in Cairo yesterday.
The event that coincided with International Women’s Day was held at The Greek Campus, under the theme “Successful Failures”.
In a statement, Entreprenelle said that the event was attended by over 5,000 participants, which, if true, makes it the largest female-focused entrepreneurship event of the Middle East & North Africa.
The event featured a wide range of talks, workshops, and panels on women’s experiences in the Egyptian entrepreneurial ecosystem. The speakers included women entrepreneurs and community leaders from different backgrounds.
SheCan offered opportunities to women interested in entrepreneurship in Egypt through talks, workshops, mentorship and competitions. The event also featured an exhibition area where different female-founded startups exhibited their products and services.
SheCan brought together more than fifty partners including UN Women, the Swedish Embassy, the National Council for Women, Nahdet Masr, Avon, Orange and the Export Development Bank of Egypt
Deputy Ambassador of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Dorothy Shea, who was one of the speakers, during her talk, said,, “As far as I’m concerned the sky is the limit. Women should be able to achieve whatever their dreams are. What I was struck by was this idea of ‘successful failures’, we need to not fear failure, it’s not a destination, it is a stepping stone to success.”
“Sometimes there can be a fear of failure, but as part of this entrepreneurship ecosystem, they are really trying to move that inhibition away. We learn from our failures and then we take our plans to the next level. I was really inspired by this theme,” she added.
Entreprenelle since its launch has organized tens of events almost all across Egypt including Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, Minya, Assiut, Sohag and Aswan, to educate Egyptian women about the entrepreneurial landscape of the country and the opportunities it offers for them.
The startup was part of Egypt’s first education accelerator EdVentures’ first cycle last year.
