Changelabs and Arab Bank Fuel Egyptian FinTech Startups with New Bootcamp Initiative

Editorial Team

Last updated 9-12-2025

3 min

Changelabs and Arab Bank’s AB Xelerate launched a FinTech Startup Bootcamp in Cairo.

The bootcamp focuses on startups addressing financial inclusion challenges in Egypt.

Ten founders were selected for workshops, networking, and a "Pitch Hack" with investors.

Winners received EGP 300,000 in equity-free funding to boost their early-stage startups.

The collaboration aims to strengthen MENA financial services innovation and corporate partnerships.

Changelabs has teamed up once again with Arab Bank’s AB Xelerate to roll out a new three‑day FinTech Startup Bootcamp in Cairo, aiming to give some of Egypt’s most promising founders a serious push forward. The programme, held at Arab Bank’s New Cairo headquarters, zeroed in on startups tackling financial inclusion – a challenge that still looms large despite the rise of local success stories like MNT Halan and Fawry.

I remember chatting with a young founder at an Arageek event last year who told me how getting a foot in the door with big banks felt like “trying to squeeze through the eye of a needle.” So seeing initiatives like this one pop up feels spot on, especially as a huge slice of Egypt’s population still struggles to access basic financial services. For banks, that gap isn’t just an issue – it’s a market opening wide enough to drive a bus through, if they’re willing to embrace startup-driven technology.

Karim Samra, Managing Director at Changelabs, noted that since launching the company’s new corporate offering, demand from Egypt’s major firms to collaborate with startups has soared, even if many aren’t sure how to make those partnerships actually work. He explained that the partnership with AB Xelerate aims to fast-track FinTech founders working on ground-level problems while helping banks form more practical, value-added relationships with young companies. And believe it or not, that two-way bridge is still a bit of a faff for many corporates.

After a competitive application process, ten founders made the final cut. They spent three packed days in workshops with industry experts, fireside chats with corporate leaders and investors, and rapid‑fire networking sessions that, from what I’ve heard, left some participants both chuffed and exhausted. A “Pitch Hack” by Changelabs helped refine their storytelling before they presented to angels and VCs. The winners walked away with EGP 300,000 in equity‑free funding – a tidy boost for any early‑stage team.

Hala Zahran, who heads Arab Bank’s AB Xelerate, said the bank remains committed to backing Egyptian entrepreneurs while expanding access to banking services for underbanked communities. She described the collaboration with Changelabs as a way to discover startups capable of reshaping financial services across the MENA region. I reckon that alignment between mission and market reality is what keeps programmes like this from becoming mere PR exercises… well, most of the time anyway.

The bootcamp adds another milestone to Changelabs’ ongoing efforts to strengthen innovation ecosystems across the Middle East and Africa, reinforcing Egypt’s growing profile as a FinTech hub. With more corporates warming up to startup partnerships, the momentum doesn’t seem likely to slow down any time soon – unless someone, somewhere, decides to take their foot off the pedal by mistake (which, honestly, would be a bit daft considering the opportunity at stake).

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