Tafaneen incubator has been propelling young entrepreneurs into success for several years now.
Since its emergence, the incubator has been focusing on those who want to start their own businesses in the field of handcrafts.
Mirna Ezzat, an aspiring jewellery-designer, received help from the incubator in starting her own jewellery brand.
Ezzat attended the second edition of the incubator, Tafaneen II, an 18-month course that came to an end recently.
”The course was a turning point in my career and for my project,” Ezzat told the Egyptian Mail in an interview.
The course helped Ezzat start her own ‘Mira Ghobrielle’ company which is specialised in the making of gold jewellery.
Dozens of other creative entrepreneurs took similar steps after attending the course.
“I learnt a lot from Tafaneen II incubator on both the technical and marketing levels,” said Heba Serag, a jewellery designer and tge founder of Heba Serag jewellery company.
“I hope that after Tafaneen II, I succeed in reaching the my brand’s target audience through different channels,” Serag added.
Tafaneen supports young entrepreneurs in creative industries and in the fields of fashion and jewellery and leather-making.
It is funded by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology which operates under the umbrella of the National Programme for Specialised Technological Incubators, widely known as ‘Intilaq’.
“I took part in Tafaneen II to develop my marketing skills and to work in a professional way, and it benefited me alot concerning my marketing vision and also on the technical level,” said Rasha El Kaseer, a jewellery designer and the founder of Rasha El Kaseer company.
“I am looking forward to have my own space to show my art pieces and to participate in many art exhibitions,” El Kaseer added.
Apart from teaching Ezzat the art of jewellery design and making, the course gave her tips on marketing and the official registration of her brand.
Course attendees learned how to take professional photos of their products and promote these products, without paying a lot of money.
Fifteen entrepreneurs attended Tafaneen II which mainly focused on market trends and changes.
The course also included business and marketing lectures, all aiming at equipping attendees with the necessary tools to manage their own businesses and market their own products.
The incubator is one of many launched by the government in recent years to help young Egyptians start their own businesses.
The government is allocating tens of millions of pounds for these incubators, which include training for these entrepreneurs in business management.
Tafaneen I was held in 2017.
Over 90 entrepreneurs applied to participate in the second edition of the incubator, but 15 only were selected, depending on the innovativeness of their project ideas, according to Aida Zayed, the general supervisor of Tafaneen II.
She said the second edition of the incubator supported the entrepreneurs attending it from beginning to end.
“We helped them formulate the ideas of their projects on the road to becoming business owners, not just creative designers,” Zayed told this newspaper.
She added that one of the main goals of the incubator is to help creative craftspeople like Ezzat to become part of the formal economy.
This is the most appropriate time, Zayed said, to encourage local manufacturers, especially given the difficulties facing imports.
“Supporting these manufacturers will of course benefit the national economy,” Zayed said.
Those attending Tafaneen II belonged to a wide range of crafts.
Leather bags’ designer, Sayed Abdel Haleem, attended the course too.
He said he learned a lot from the business and marketing experts who lectured at the course.
“I learned how to manage my project, as well as leather work techniques,” Abdel Haleem said.
Abdel Haleem has his own leather bags’ company which is called ‘Garabandia’. He plans to launch his own brand which will carry the same name.
Abdel Haleem has already prepared the bags’ collection he will launch the brand with.
“I used different and new techniques in the making of this collection,” Abdel Haleem said.
He and fellow entrepreneurs look forward to catering to the needs of the local market and also gaining a foothold in foreign markets.
Their products, they say, are capable of competing in these markets, in terms of innovativeness, quality and prices.
Seif Ahmed, another jewellery designer who started his own Gadayel Artwork company, said he benefited a lot from Tafaneen II.
“I hope to bring my work to different exhibitions in the future,” Ahmed said. “This can help my artwork become an international brand.”
Ahmed’s work and the work of the other 14 entrepreneurs attending Tafaneen II was paraded at Abdeen Palace in downtown Cairo at the end of the course.
The participants were also given certificates of honour by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
