You are here Home » Start-ups » Funding » Egypt’s startup Napata wins the PepsiCo Social Impact Competition

Egypt’s startup Napata wins the PepsiCo Social Impact Competition

by Milicent Atieno
Egypt’s startup Napata wins the PepsiCo Social Impact Competition

An Egypt-based startup Napata, manufacturing makes handmade and traditional products out of palm waste, is the winner of the PepsiCo Social Impact Competition.

A competition (organized partly by Wamda), seeking to reward and celebrating startups with innovative solutions to societal problems within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Napata alongside other ten startups (five being from Africa), were selected to proceed to the final stage of the competition. The competition received more than 100 submissions, half of which come from Egypt.

The finalist of the competition pitched their product before a panel of distinguished judges. The pitch took place at the Amwaj 2016 Forum, with Napata being crowned the winner during the gala dinner that took place on November 29, 2016.

Napata got a cash reward of $10,000, to be used to for redesign their product and scale up its outreach. Napata is also set to expand its team, and has also secured a creative crafts space where Aswan is based.

The absence of sustainable governance during the last couple of years in Egypt, pushed people to find their own solutions for their social problems. Egypt has a huge population and there’s a lot of underprivileged people compared to the small GCC countries,” said Jana Kassem, an organizer for the Wamda competition.

The runners up was Green Alafco from Tunisia. This startup recycles aluminum waste using a network of waster pickers. Green Alafco walked home with a cash prize of $6,000.

You may also like