Yahoo! and Nahdet El Mahrousa, an Egypt-based nongovernmental organisation (NGO), have launched a social entrepreneurship program and competition.

The initiative hopes to inspire young Egyptians to think about social entrepreneurship, and  socially responsible business ideas, that are innovative and sustainable and can have a positive impact on Egypt.

“In partnering with Yahoo!, we are furthering Nahdet El Mahrousa’s mission to engage and activate young Egyptian professionals in the development and public arenas and in shaping Egypt’s future,” said Ehaab Abdou, co-founder and board member of Nahdet El Mahrousa.

“Through the Social Innovation Starts With You competition we are seeking young social entrepreneurs who are agents of change in their communities and demonstrate strong passion for and appreciation of Egypt and its diversity.”

Starting June 28, Yahoo! and Nahdet El Mahrousa invite individuals from across Egypt to be the next social entrepreneurs of the year by developing new enterprise ideas that have a positive developmental impact on the lives of Egyptians in the categories of education, health, environment, and a wildcard category.

The competition’s website (https://eg.socialinnovation.yahoo.com) will serve as an entry point for aspiring entrepreneurs by providing an online toolkit of resources, inspirational stories, advice, and Web services to get them started.

Ten winners will be honoured in November with monetary grants, capacity building, technical support, infrastructure, and performance management. Among the winners will also be current social entrepreneurs who will receive support to scale their efforts and achieve wider impact.

In total, Yahoo! will contribute $500,000 to the campaign, and as part of that, will provide close to $250,000 in monetary grants to awardees.

“Yahoo!’s announcement to acquire Maktoob last year shined the spotlight on tech entrepreneurs in the Arab world and the incredible potential and talent in the region that is largely untapped,” added Ahmed Nassef, vice president and managing director of Yahoo! Middle East.-TradeArabia News Service