‘Yalla Sahel’, TikTok and RiseUp team up to support Egyptian startups

Yalla Sahel, TikTok for Business and RiseUp joined forces on 13-14 August at the G Hotel in Sidi Abdel Rahman to deliver a two-day programme aimed at helping Egyptian startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt platform marketing tools and scale their digital presence. The event took place under the auspices of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance, and gathered senior public officials, private developers and platform representatives to provide practical training and advisory support.

"These sessions aimed to offer practical guidance to startup founders and SME owners on setting up ad accounts, creating marketing campaigns, adopting best practices, and using platform tools to scale their businesses and expand their digital footprint," organisers said.

Senior leaders, platform experts and entrepreneurs on stage

The opening day on 13 August featured participation from ministers Dr Mohamed Farid, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, and Dr Ahmed Rostom, Minister of Planning and Economic Development. Prominent private-sector figures from the Yalla Sahel organising group attended, including Ayman Abbas, Chairman of Intro Holding; Abdallah Sallam, Managing Director and CEO of Madinet Masr; Ahmed Diab, Chairman of Liberty Development; and Seif El-Wazery, Chairman of United Media Services.

TikTok for Business was represented by Wael Ezzat, Head of Public Policy and Government Relations for North Africa, and RiseUp was represented by its founder and CEO, Abdelhameed Sharara. The first day combined an opening plenary and a roundtable discussion bringing ministers together with leaders from Yalla Sahel, TikTok and RiseUp to explore ways to support entrepreneurship and the digital economy.

• Specialised workshops focused on content creation, digital marketing and TikTok for Business solutions.
• Panel discussions highlighted startup success stories and opportunities within the digital economy.
• The second day was devoted to one-on-one advisory sessions with TikTok for Business experts tailored to founders and SME owners.

Organisers emphasised the practical nature of the sessions: advisors guided participants on setting up ad accounts, building and optimising campaigns, and applying platform best practices. The one-on-one format was designed to translate workshop learnings into immediate, actionable steps for participating companies.

Representatives also sought to situate the initiative within a broader policy framework: the joint patronage of three ministries signalled public-sector interest in strengthening entrepreneurship through digital tools and private-public collaboration. As part of the programme materials, attendees were directed to platform-specific solutions and success stories intended to inspire replication across Cairo and Egypt’s coastal business hubs.

Outlook

With practical advisory sessions and hands-on workshops now completed, organisers expect participating startups and SMEs to test and scale digital campaigns on TikTok and other platforms. Continued cooperation between Yalla Sahel, TikTok for Business and RiseUp—alongside ministerial support—aims to create repeating cycles of training and mentorship. As one programme note observed, "The Egyptian Gazette is the oldest English-language daily newspaper in the Middle East," underscoring the longstanding media environment within which Egypt’s modern startup ecosystem is seeking wider attention and growth.