More and more fresh graduates are starting up their own businesses to initiate their path towards success. According to a study from XYZ University wherein they collected data through an online global survey, 58% of Gen Zers want to own a business one day and 14% already do, which is a drastic increase if you compare it to 15 years ago.
They launch these businesses as a way to help out other youth and make them feel more represented. And the fact that the founders are under the age of 25, makes their stories inspiring for their targeted audience.
Egyptian youngsters now have their own clothing lines, their production companies; and are striving towards introducing their touch to many sectors.
Today, we’re celebrating this by offering you a list of 5 businesses and organizations in Egypt launched by the young and for the young.
1. Youthout (@youthout_eg)
Photo Via: Youthout
Led by the ambitious Nadia Geode and Nouran Hammad, Youthout was founded in 2018 with the purpose of connecting youth to plenty of opportunities through interactive activities and professional guidance. Since then, their team has grown to include more than 20 members.
‘Shababco’, as an example, was one of their latest events. On June 4 to 5 at Arkan Plaza, they brought together 50 pop-up booths for young business owners to peruse. The event also featured high-caliber professionals like Ali Ismail, the Nike coach who founded the famed fitness brand, Move Egypt; and Amira Adeeb, the influencer and content creator who is also the brains behind her own brand, Shopamiraadeeb.
Youthout’s events and activities almost always stand out from other youth-aimed affairs, because they’re completely free!
Their obvious aim is to enable and empower the young ambitious dreamers and tomorrow’s leaders.
2. Young Productions (@youngproductionss)
Photo Via: @youngproductionss Instagram
Media agency, Young Productions, identify themselves as, “Young people with visions living inside their minds.” It was founded by Youssof Tarek, who leads a team of 16 professional photographers and videographers.
They produce documentaries, short movies, advertisements, and offer event coverage services among many things. Their previous work includes covering Traverse’19, a collaboration with Travista and BeFit.
Over and above, they’re currently producing their own show “Gen to Gen” which Nour El Zahed is hosting at Intercontinental Semiramis to “bring life experience from successful people to their young audience” and it’s safe to say their choice of guests hasn’t failed anyone’s expectations. They had Hazem Ehab, Sherine Arafa, and Omar El Shenawy!
Each guest presents new and original content based on their area of expertise, with each episode being split into three different parts in order to get to know the guest and his profession from all angles. The first part of the interview includes personal questions asked by Zahed, while the second part embarks on work-related questions, after which the episode ends with a game. The cool part about the game is that the points collected during it go straight to a charity that the guest chooses.
3. Qareb (@qareb_eg)
Photo Via: @qareb_eg Instagram
Established by Isamael Shehab in 2019, fashion brand Qareb keeps updating their releases all the time; from socks and bags to bucket hats and hoodies—they seem to have it all. They’ve displayed their designs at various events for both youth and adults.
Qareb is also all about being sustainable, aiming to rescue both style and the environment, which is partly at least why many celebrities shop for their clothes that combine decent materials and original designs.
Coincidently, Qareb came back to the scene with cool items at Youthout’s ‘Shababco’ after a brief hiatus.
4. Najlah (@najlah.eg)
Photo Via: @najlah.eg Instagram
We’ve got another business owner that shined at Shababco last Friday, 21-year-old Mennah Hassan launched her own clothing line towards the end of 2020 and has been surprising us with new items since.
Najlah is a clothing brand for women founded by Mennah and her mother, after which the business is named. It focuses on empowering women and making them feel comfortable in their clothes and own skin. That’s why the brand doesn’t have a size chart and mainly uses two sizes, small and large, that fits up to 3 sizes from XS to XXL); it also sheds light on the need for women to express themselves freely.
Najlah offers new designs that haven’t been seen before from an authentic Egyptian brand, in addition to displaying her items on all body types so all shoppers can feel represented.
They recently started designing dresses and are also giving everyone the option to pick up their orders from their newly opened studio in Zamalek instead of just shopping online.
Our guess is Najlah is well on the way to inspiring body positivity for women in Egypt.
5. Splatter (@splatter.eg)
Photo Via: @splatter.eg Instagram
“The eye eats before the mouth” is the motto that Splatter lives by. It’s a food & beverage business run by 19-year-old Salma El Hosamy. It’s the best alternative for buying basic حلويات شرقية on your way to a gathering or when you’re hosting a gathering and are in need of a dessert to complete your menu. Their menu includes seafood, cheese, fruit, and mezze platters, and every holiday she comes up with a cool new color scheme to match the holiday’s colors.
She also always guarantees fresh produce, immaculate wrapping, and outstanding packaging with her signature wood platters. If you want to customize your own platter, she’s more than open to it and there are literally no limits to what you want to include in it.
Nevertheless, we couldn’t help but notice the fact that adults do not know how to promote and support entrepreneurship among youth properly. Maybe it’s a result of them not seeing how important and effective they actually are. Yet it must be acknowledged that it teaches and improves valuable skills that school or university alone doesn’t provide; whether you’re a business owner or just participating in these events and profiting from the organizations.
Additionally, being included in that community develops independence and assertiveness and encourages the youth to do what they love and get out of their comfort zones. This will all pave the way for someone to be more self-aware and self-confident, which will eventually make them more attractive in the eyes of employers and somehow secure a stable career path from a young age.
