Entrepreneurs in Egypt: Sherif Abdelhadi

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 In News

Young entrepreneurs in Egypt are part of a new wave of self-employment sweeping the nation, and Mostafa Shahat writes about them.


While the entrepreneurship revolution was at its peak in Cairo, other regions in Egypt, especially Delta (Northern Egypt), were just starting to engage with the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Mansoura is one of the cities in Delta region. Famous for its culture and history that goes back to 1219, it’s also one of the most active cities in the region for entrepreneurship.

Sherif Abdelhadi is a social entrepreneur who was born and raised in Mansoura. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 2012 from Mansoura University and pursued his postgraduate studies in Business Development and Project Management.

Currently, he is working as Business Developer at VOO and he is enrolled as an MBA student at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (AASTM).

Sherif co-founded the Helm (meaning ‘dream’ in English) Co-working Space, which is the first co-working space in Mansoura and the seventh leading co-working spaces in Egypt. Helm was the entrepreneurship spark in Mansoura. It supported and encouraged entrepreneurs and young people to develop entrepreneurial ideas and projects by conducting programmes and trainings.

Helm invites experts and consultants from Cairo to share their experiences and support entrepreneurs and organizes meetups and networking events where young people can meet, connect, and work together for a greater impact. Helm has supported more than 600 entrepreneurs not only from Mansoura but other neighboring cities as well.

Sherif’s contribution to the entrepreneurship community was not only in Mansoura. He also worked with many other startups as a Business Developer, reforming their business models and seeking opportunities and resources to ensure their expansion.

‘I feel very grateful that I have helped many entrepreneurs who have succeeded secure investments and run their enterprises on a big scale’, says Sherif.

Sherif was not only successful on professional level – he achieved greatness on national and regional level, too. He has worked with various entities in environmental and community development projects in the MENA region. Sherif was also a former Egypt National for 350.org, a global climate movement founded in more than 180 countries. Sherif builds plans and partnerships, recruits national teams and develops strategies.

In 2015, Sherif was selected as a North Africa Regional Coordinator for the Arab Youth Climate Movement (AYCM), which operates in 17 Arab Countries. He is responsible for building and enhancing AYCM teams and expanding partnerships in seven countries in the MENA region by providing expertise and connections.

Sherif has been invited to several international youth conferences all over the world. His passion never ends, and he is always motivated to support not only his local community but his region as well.


Article submitted by Mostafa Shahat, the volunteer responsible for Arabic guest bloggers in the MENA region and an entrepreneur who has established one of the most successful youth communities in Egypt, Goal Oriented Learners. Mostafa studied social entrepreneurship in USA and is currently the Middle East & North Africa representative at StudySearch (Nigeria) and the Egypt representative for All Events in City (India). Mostafa is also a reporter at Nudge Sustainability Hub. Email him at mshahat@golteam.org and check out his other blog A Syrian’s Success in Egypt and more from his Entrepreneurs in Egypt series.


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