What’s Cooking in the WYF Labs

By Yara Elhemely

One of the topics tackled at the preparatory workshops of the fourth edition of the World Youth Forum (WYF) is entrepreneurship development. The WYF Labs organized a workshop dedicated to discuss all issues related to entrepreneurship.

“I could not imagine that one of the WYF participants decided to change his investment destination and target Egypt after attending the events,” said Amr Seda, Head of the WYF Labs.

Amr Seda stated that the participants became informed of the Egyptian markets and investment opportunities while learning how to develop their businesses. “The targeted audience for the workshop were those potential entrepreneurs who are still in the ideation process,” he added.

The workshop basically covered the concepts of how to do business, different basic principles of ideation, business models’ validation, and the growth potential of startups. 

Seda stated that a considerable portion of the WYF Labs was directed to digital skills, building communities, and social media. “A very important topic discussed was how to pitch ideas and tackle different aspects like body language, tone of voice, and other presentation skills,” he stressed.

The workshop demonstrated different networking games, where the participants learnt how networking can help build successful opportunities. 

“The WYF Labs believes in the importance of social entrepreneurship, where businesses not only seek profit but also seek to help the society flourish. Hence, we made sure participants learned how to start their own social enterprises, while reflecting on success stories from all over the world,” he elaborated.

When asked about what was special during the workshop, Seda said that he was extremely thrilled with the number of people taking notes, “The quick 20-minute sessions were successful in keeping people engaged and interested.”

Participants of the WYF Labs were chosen in a way that would assure a diverse group. Participants from more than 20 countries, including USA, Germany, Philippines, Russia, Lebanon, United Kingdom, Jordan, and a number of African countries, all agreed to the fact that the sessions were very short and that they would have loved them to stay longer.

Two coming sessions of the WYF Labs are expected to take place on the 11th and 12th of January, where prominent entrepreneurs will speak about good practices and share their success stories. Amr Seda confirmed that the preparatory sessions caught the interests of many Egyptian officials who would be a part of the coming sessions. 

“What is so special about the WYF Labs this year is that startups do not simply exhibit their products, but also are connected with potential investors and are provided with enough room to explain their business plans,” said Amr Seda. “This year we added what we call the ‘Startups Clinic’ where United Nations exports from all over the world provide a one-to-one mentorship to startups in areas they are stuck at, whether marketing, social media, logistics, finance, or any other business field.”

The WYF Labs already stimulated many youths to start up their own businesses. So, if you are attending the WYF, try not to miss any of the WYF sessions. If not, do not miss attending the sessions online through the WYF’s virtual interactive platform.

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