Discovering the Valley
The Community, Culture and Network from an Egyptian Eye!
Six weeks ago, I joined an amazing group of 78 women from 16 countries in the Middle East and Africa on a trip to the Silicon Valley. We were all techies (from Nuclear Scientists to Pharmacy Professors and everything in between), and we were all eager to see if the most legendary tech place on earth would live up to its reputation!
As part of the TechWomen cohort we would be placed in an immersive Silicon Valley Experience, where we get to work in one of the renowned tech companies for a month, matched with a leading professional mentor. We would attend workshops, and events and mostly network like crazy and get a grasp of whats its all about.
Here I share some of my observations on the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Valley, Egypt and some countries in between.
1. It’s all about the COMMUNITY
Strange as it may sound, I was shocked by the format of the first few events in the valley. It’s was mostly food, socialization, introductions, and people who've never met each other before, sharing what they do, what they know and how they can help and connect each other. “Never a Stranger” seems to be the motto. My first impression was “when does the event actually start?”! But that was actually the format of most of the events I attended, whether they were Startup Pitch events, competitions, panels… A lot of thought and focus is put into bringing people together and letting the magic happen.
Interestingly it was through such networking opportunities that I managed to get introductions to most of the people I was dreaming of meeting in the valley, from VC partners, to Incubators and more! (More about these later). The community takes care of its self and promotes communal sharing and promotion. It’s not small talk, but listening for opportunity, to share in pushing something/ someone to grow.
As natural as it seems to be happening in the valley, it’s in fact in stark contrast to our local entrepreneurship ecosystems. I had listened to a friend from a global start-up support organization comment that he seems to always meet the same people in all the events he attends when he in Egypt- sign of a closed ecosystem; which is actually strange and counter-productive for such a young ecosystem.
How can we be more open? How can we turn a small community that knows each-other to an open community attracting more brains, diverse thoughts and willing to listen with compassion and support?
