{"id":561925,"date":"2021-04-26T04:00:19","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T04:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/egyptian-university-entrepreneurship-programs-what-do-they-need-to-improve\/"},"modified":"2021-04-26T04:00:19","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T04:00:19","slug":"egyptian-university-entrepreneurship-programs-what-do-they-need-to-improve","status":"publish","type":"blackboard","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/egyptian-university-entrepreneurship-programs-what-do-they-need-to-improve\/","title":{"rendered":"Egyptian university entrepreneurship programs: what do they need to improve?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> <\/strong>Egyptian university entrepreneurship programs Part 3: What do they need to improve? <\/strong>Today, we continue our look at how university entrepreneurship programs are helping to graduate our next batch of startups. In Part 1<\/a>, tech leaders and college officials told us how universities here provide ideal environments for building a pipeline of early-stage entrepreneurs. In Part 2<\/a>, we looked at what it is they get right. We found that they\u2019re particularly strong at awareness-raising, providing access to resources and mentorship. But what could they do better?<\/strong> We asked startup program leaders, entrepreneurs and VCs.<\/p>\n

What we found is that universities are finding it hard to prepare entrepreneurs to institutionalize and corporatize their businesses. <\/strong>Three key areas need more work, say stakeholders: teaching governance and accountability; teaching executive leadership; and more service provision.<\/p>\n

#1- Teaching corporate governance and accountability:<\/strong> University entrepreneurship programs should provide training in clearly defining expectations between investors and founders, says one startup expert, speaking anonymously. \u201cI\u2019ve known of entrepreneurs \u2014 especially undergraduates \u2014 who used prizes or grants to travel, rather than injecting the funds directly into their companies. There needs to be a culture of accountability from day 1.\u201d<\/p>\n

How big is this issue? Lack of accountability is a common general sector problem<\/strong>, says Managing Director of Falak Startups<\/a> Youssef ElSammaa. Falak often sees mismatched expectations and lack of accountability, especially with younger founders, he says. \u201cProblems exist, so university programs definitely aren't tackling them enough. But this isn\u2019t their responsibility alone: it\u2019s a shared ecosystem responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are university programs teaching governance and business ethics? We don\u2019t think so.<\/strong> \u201cTo the best of my knowledge, no Egyptian university-based startup incubators deliver formal sessions on governance and business ethics,\u201d FEPS BI<\/a> Executive Director Heba Zaki tells Enterprise. The concepts are discussed during FEPS BI mentorship sessions, without formal training, Zaki adds.<\/p>\n

Should they be? Program leaders aren\u2019t so sure. <\/strong>Accountability wasn\u2019t tackled by university programs until two years ago, says iHub<\/a> Founder Maged Ghoneima. \u201cThen, V-Lab, iHub and Nilepreneurs started pushing it through bootcamps, because entrepreneurs need ownership and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

But governance doesn\u2019t become relevant until a startup starts attracting investments and growing its team<\/strong>, he says. \u201cFormal governance is most important when a company is owned by shareholders and managed by a different management team, who aren\u2019t company owners,\u201d says V-Lab\u2019s<\/a> Founding Director Ayman Ismail. \u201cThis is not the case for early-stage startups.\u201d<\/p>\n

#2- Creating startup executive leadership: <\/strong>Helping entrepreneurs turn ideas into viable businesses is important, but programs should also be building leaders, says Cairo Angels<\/a> General Manager Zeina Mandour. \u201cStartup founders need to be taught how to manage, how to build an organizational culture, talent acquisition. This is something a lot of entrepreneurs need.\u201d From an investor perspective, startups shouldn\u2019t just learn how to grow technically, but how to grow as businesses, KarmSolar\u2019s<\/a> Development Director Ibrahim Metawie tells Enterprise.<\/p>\n

How big is the problem? Though university programs address it, results aren\u2019t really being seen.<\/strong> At least one or two university incubator programs teach leadership and management, says Zaki. But impact isn\u2019t being felt at the market level. Institutionalization is missing in the sector overall, so it\u2019s probably not just about university incubators, says Metawie.<\/p>\n

Should it be more of a focus? Some say university programs are too early-stage for that: <\/strong>More leadership is needed, but it can\u2019t be taught overnight. And university entrepreneurship programs can\u2019t focus on everything, say program directors. Teaching leadership happens at the product development stage. University programs focus on ideation and creating teams, says Ghoneima. \u201cPrograms support entrepreneurs at different stages,\u201d agrees Ismail. \u201cThe focus of most university programs is on awareness, ideation and validation \u2014 making sure entrepreneurs are solving real problems, and able to go to market effectively,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

#3- Arguably the biggest problem of all? Many students remain underserved:<\/strong> University entrepreneurship programs need to grow massively, Nilepreneurs<\/a> founder Nezar Sami tells Enterprise. Helwan University, with over 150k students, is hardly being catered to. V-Lab is an example of an excellent incubator, says ElSammaa, but though its startup portfolio is impressive, most aren\u2019t AUC student-affiliated. \u201cWe\u2019ve even had Falak graduates apply for V-Lab because they want access to their resources.\u201d Even if V-Lab\u2019s focus was solely on students, there are only 12k at AUC \u2014 not even 1% of Egypt\u2019s total number of university students, says another off-the-record source.<\/p>\n

So new programs are undoubtedly needed. But leaders warn against creating carbon copies of existing ones.<\/strong> \u201cDon\u2019t try to mimic other programs,\u201d says Ismail. \u201cLook at them, understand them, but design something that fits with your own internal and external stakeholders, your knowledge and assets. Play to your strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or applying<\/strong> inflexible, academic models: <\/strong>Some programs need to modify their approach, says Zaki. \u201cSome have the potential to grow. Others won\u2019t unless they change their mindset and business model.\u201d They can be too rigid and classically academic, she believes. \u201cSome are trying to teach entrepreneurship through lectures. The approach should be a hands-on workshop format.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your top education stories for the week:<\/strong><\/p>\n