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Three Egyptian Startups Win Life Changing Opportunities with Schneider Electric

Schneider's =S= Electric Energy Challenge is set to help make three innovative sustainability concepts come to life.

Staff Writer

Three Egyptian Startups Win Life Changing Opportunities with Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric, leaders in energy management and automation, just announced the winners of Schneider Electric’s =S= Energy Challenge during the second edition of their Cairo Innovation Summit 2019 under the theme of Digital Transformation. The challenge consisted of two rounds, and the second and last had eleven teams, trained by specialized engineers, showcasing different innovative and smart solutions for six sustainability-related problems, competing for the top three places. Topics concerning sustainability include smart buildings, energy, water, mobility, public services and factories.

The conference and exhibition had Schneider Electric make a few announcements on the launch of new products and solutions serving digital transformation and facility control via the latest IoT-powered technology, their targeting of digitalization of energy operating systems lowering carbon emissions and Egypt being a 'regional hub' for their businesses in North Africa and Levant with investments in the past two years reaching EUR 35 million.  

Under the theme of ‘Digital Transformation’, Schneider Electric "will roll out a set of top-notch newly launched products and services in the Egyptian market, which will serve digital transformation and facility control using Internet-of-Things technology," said Walid Sheta, Regional Cluster President of Egypt, North East Africa and Levant. The conference showcased a number of smart solutions and technological platforms for various energy management sectors, industrial control and engineering services, all relying on information management and Internet-of-Things technology.

During the conference, on the 23rd of September a protocol was signed between Schneider Electric and the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation through Fekretak Sherketak and Falak Startups, aiming at providing support for energy management and sustainable development objectives.

“Egypt is witnessing a leap in energy sector, coupled with endeavors to transform it into a vital regional energy hub in MENA," said Schneider Electric's International Operations Executive Vice President, Luc Rémont. "We participate in mega development projects through Schneider Electric's ‘EcoStruxure’ platform that operates in various sectors such as buildings, factories, data centers, hotels, oil, petrochemicals and water, through providing a set of smart solutions that serve digital transformation and help streamline operational performance.” 

First place for the Energy Challenge was awarded to Proteinea for pitching the idea of raising insects to replace fishmeal in agriculture and to integrate more insect-based sustainable and environmental protein in animal feeds. Second place went to Division X for the idea of building Quality Inspection Systems and deep learning technologies to help enterprises digitize their tasks to save money, effort and time. Lastly, Influx took home the third award for their innovation and take on cylinder of solar cells installed in a vertical position, reflecting and multiplying the light of the sun - and causing more electricity to be generated with double the energy using less space cells.

“We placed rules for selection, including strong knowledge about the problems facing smart cities, presence of innovative solutions that serve technology, an understanding of the nature of markets in the region, as well as the team's ability to develop its skills and the product it is showcasing and its success in selling it in the future; also providing a feasibility study for provided solutions,” Sheta added. 

 

 The top three winners were awarded financial prizes ranging from EGP 40,000 to EGP 100,000, got incubated in Schneider Electric Egypt and the chance to partake in Schneider Electric's exchange program. Upon the announcing of the challenge, held for the first time in Egypt, more than 150 contestants applied of which were students, startups and university professors. In addition to the top three winners, an incubation award was given to the teams Vision for Smart Energy, Dizaria Energy and Joudran, allowing the teams with ideas of potential to receive training from Schneider Electric.

“The Egyptian youths have presented bold ideas aimed at achieving a smarter and more sustainable future in resource management," Senior Vice President for New Products at Innovation at Innovation @TheEdge, Jean-Louis Stasi said. "Being a major energy player worldwide, Schneider Electric has a greater knowledge of the market rules and requirements; so, our support for the 'Schneider =S= Electric Energy Challenge’ participants will not be limited to financial awards, as we will also be a link between these innovators and the world's energy experts."