Flat6Labs: A decade of accelerating startups

Flat6Labs: A decade of accelerating startups

Once Hany Sonbaty and Ahmed Alfi launched their venture capital firm, Sawari Ventures, in Egypt back in 2010, the pair were often hounded by enthusiastic entrepreneurs who sought their investment, advice and mentorship.

While they were happy to support and cater to the nascent entrepreneurship sector in the country, for Sonbaty, the constant vying for his attention proved to be somewhat draining.

“I was always annoyed, they would corner me at conferences and say ‘if only I had money, I would be able to do this’,” says Sonbaty, who thought an accelerator programme would be best for these entrepreneurs to see them “prove their point”.