For more than five consecutive years, the Rally Startup Festival has emerged as one of Egypt’s most influential entrepreneurship platforms, bringing together ambition, education, and opportunity on a national scale. Drawing between 1,000 and 3,000 participants per edition, the festival has become a cornerstone for university students, young founders, and Entrepreneurship Societies across the country—shaping mindsets and accelerating ideas into viable ventures.
At the heart of Rally’s success is the AAST Entrepreneurship Center (AASTEC), established in 2015 by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT). In recognition of its extraordinary contribution to entrepreneurship development in Egypt, the Arab region, and across Africa, AASTEC was awarded the prestigious ICSB 2025 Entrepreneurship Center Global Impact Award. The honor reflects not only Rally’s scale and consistency, but the Center’s broader role as one of the most comprehensive and impactful university-based entrepreneurship ecosystems in the region.
From Festival to Full-Scale Ecosystem
Rally Startup Festival was designed as more than a standalone event. It is a living expression of AASTEC’s ecosystem-building mission—combining high-impact educational content, inspirational storytelling, mentorship, and real financial support to move participants from awareness to action. Each edition culminates in startup competitions and awards, reinforcing Rally’s commitment to transforming ideas into real ventures with measurable outcomes.
AASTEC itself was never conceived as a traditional incubator. From its inception, it was built as a full-scale entrepreneurship ecosystem builder, engaging students, startups, universities, policymakers, investors, and development partners. Through its flagship RIPPLE Program, AASTEC has strengthened entrepreneurship centers at more than 35 universities, enabling institutional capacity building and long-term pipeline development across Egypt and the wider region.
Rally 2025 Winter Edition: Four Pillars of Impact
In 2025, Rally expanded its reach with the launch of its Winter Edition, structured around four strategic pillars aligned with AASTEC’s ecosystem vision:
Entrepreneurial Content for Youth
Curated sessions focused on mindset transformation and practical skills, covering motivation, personal branding, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship fundamentals—empowering young entrepreneurs with confidence and clarity.
Startup Success Stories
Founders from Rally-supported startups shared authentic journeys, offering participants real-world insights into challenges, pivots, and lessons learned, and bridging the gap between theory and lived experience.
Alumni & Mentorship Engagement
Established Rally alumni startups returned as mentors, providing guidance, internships, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities for early-stage founders and student entrepreneurs.
International & Regional Perspectives
The edition featured international and regional speakers, including Mohamed Ali, Head of Entrepreneurship at a London South Bank University (UK), and Motaz AbuonQ, CEO and Founder of VMS (KSA), bringing global insights and cross-border perspectives to Egypt’s entrepreneurial youth.
National Reach, Real Outcomes
The Rally Startup Festival brought together representatives from 40 universities across Egypt, all part of the Rally Entrepreneurship Societies Network, underscoring its role as a unifying national platform. A key highlight was the Rally Entrepreneurship Competition Award Ceremony, where startups received direct financial support:
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First Place – 150,000 EGP
Mumguard — Pharos University -
Second Place – 100,000 EGP
Unify — Benha National University -
Third Place – 50,000 EGP
Tech Pioneer — Galala University
Beyond the main competition, Rally’s collaboration with the Plan International program resulted in the distribution of more than 2 million EGP in awards and funding, supporting 25 ideas and startups by the end of the program.
Embedded in a Larger Impact Story
Rally’s success is part of a much larger national and regional impact driven by AASTEC. Through the Egypt Rally Entrepreneurship Competition, the Center has reached over 47,000 beneficiaries and supported more than 2,000 startups across Egypt—creating jobs and attracting investment in both urban and underserved regions. AASTEC has also pioneered sector-focused incubation through initiatives such as the MASAR Agribusiness Incubator, Mashreq Tourism Incubator, and Supply Chain & Logistics Incubator, aligning entrepreneurship with national development priorities.
Its commitment to inclusive growth is reflected in programs such as the Goodwill Incubator, empowering entrepreneurs with disabilities, and large-scale initiatives serving rural communities in Upper Egypt.
Global Recognition and Sustainable Leadership
On the international stage, AASTEC serves as a regional hub for knowledge and policy transfer, collaborating with organizations such as UNIDO, ILO, USAID, GIZ, the Union of Arab Chambers, ICSB, and the SME World Forum. These partnerships have enabled cross-border replication of best practices and the launch of Knowledge Hubs focused on human-centered entrepreneurship, sustainability, and innovation.
Backed by a diversified and sustainable financial model, and led by Dr. Heba El-Ashry—an internationally certified entrepreneurship coach trained at Babson College and Ciputra University—AASTEC operates with a highly skilled multidisciplinary team delivering programs across Egypt and the Arab world.
A Model of Enduring Impact
The ICSB Entrepreneurship Center Global Impact Award recognizes institutions that achieve not only excellence, but enduring transformation. AASTEC was selected because it embodies the true meaning of global impact: youth empowerment at scale, ecosystem capacity building, inclusive development, regional replication, and sustainable economic contribution.
Through initiatives like the Rally Startup Festival, AASTEC demonstrates how entrepreneurship—when embedded into education, policy, and community development—becomes a powerful engine for national growth and global progress.