Reaffirming its commitment to the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) has rolled out a comprehensive suite of programs aimed at empowering female founders, SMEs, and early-stage ventures. At the core of this rollout is the “Women Rise” package, structured to deliver targeted advisory and operational support alongside a broader framework of strategic ecosystem partnerships and non-financial services.
Quick Facts
- NBE launches Women Rise for female artisans and founders.
- Partners with Plug and Play for 12-week Cairo accelerator.
- Provides free advisory, cybersecurity, and digital business essential solutions.
Elevating Female Founders Through Women Rise
Designed specifically to address the operational challenges faced by women in business, the Women Rise package places a strong emphasis on female artisans and early-stage entrepreneurs.
The initiative grants participants access to free, individualized consulting sessions tailored to the specific needs of their respective projects.
These one-on-one sessions are led by a specialized team of experts covering a broad operational spectrum. Focus areas include financial and non-financial services, financial inclusion strategies, e-commerce optimization, B2B service integration, and cybersecurity frameworks, ensuring founders have the foundational knowledge required to scale competitively.
Strategic Accelerator Partnerships with Plug and Play
To drive digital transformation and startup growth in Cairo, NBE has cemented a strategic partnership with global innovation platform Plug and Play.
This collaboration introduces a structured 12-week accelerator program targeting startups across various maturity levels. Participants gain access to specialized mentorship, networking opportunities, thought leadership training, and direct investment prospects. Additionally, the program provides co-working spaces situated within Creativa Innovation Hubs across Egypt.
The Plug and Play program is divided into two distinct tracks. The MVP Stage supports early-phase startups focused on prototyping and market validation, while the Revenue Generating track is tailored for startups already generating income that are actively seeking to scale operations and attract institutional investment.
Academic Collaboration and Business Essentials Services
Expanding its reach to the academic sector, NBE is collaborating with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) to host the “Rally Egypt” entrepreneurship program.
The initiative features a six-month track designed to help university students transition conceptual ideas into viable startups. For more mature companies, the parallel “Rally Accelerate” program offers investment-ready startups the necessary training, network access, and market-entry strategies to expand globally.
Beyond accelerator tracks, NBE is equipping entrepreneurs with actionable market insights through “Business in Two Words,” a short-form video series featuring bank experts analyzing current market trends.
The bank also launched “Business Essentials,” a specialized service suite addressing the technical requirements of modern enterprises. This suite includes e-payment solutions, website design and development, supply chain management, and digital payment collection. Complementing these services, NBE continues to host specialized capacity-building workshops covering feasibility studies, legal structuring, financial management, and e-commerce fundamentals.
About National Bank of Egypt
The National Bank of Egypt is the country’s oldest and largest commercial bank. It plays a foundational role in Egypt’s economic development, increasingly focusing its resources on driving financial inclusion, digital transformation, and startup ecosystem growth through integrated financing, strategic advisory, and global partnerships.
Source: El Taameer
