Get ready for Egypt’s first insurtech hackathon which kicks off next week in Cairo

Are you ready for it? Egypt’s first insurtech hackathon, InsurHack, is set to kick off next Thursday (28 November) at the American University in Cairo.

The hackathon, held under the theme “Innovating Egypt’s insurance sector”, is an initiative of Insurtech Egypt which was launched by German development agency GIZ.

Insurtech Egypt is a platform where innovative entrepreneurs and startups come together with the insurance industry leaders and regulators to design, code and develop sustainable solutions to disrupt the insurance industry.

The winner of the Insurtech Egypt will take home a 100 000 Egyptian Pounds cash prize

Insurtech Egypt said in a statement on Tuesday (19 November) that the hackathon will gather 100 entrepreneurs, techies, and designers — selected after an open call that was launched last month — to formulate 10 teams that will work on developing 10 business ideas and solve specific challenges.

During the four-day event, the 10 participating teams will work under a challenge framework developed by insurance companies, to propose expected outcomes and compete over a cash prize worth of 100 000 Egyptian pound (about $6200).

The winner, along with the first and second runners-up, will receive additional benefits such as a study tour to Europe, physical space for two months, fast selection to AUC Venture Lab‘s bootcamp and proof of concepts.

It will address the main challenges that hinder the sector’s progress and position it to be a significant key player in the country’s economy.

The organisers of the hackathon have designed a curriculum of intensive training and mentorship covering a variety of topics such as design thinking, agile prototyping and insurance infrastructure.

Insurtech Egypt said the training will assist the participating teams to ideate and design solutions and startup ideas that can contribute to a “more technological” insurance sector in Egypt.

The hackathon will conclude with a demo day on 1 December where the teams will showcase their projects.

Featured image: Campus Party Brasil via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)