Innovation Harnessing to Unlock Breakthroughs for Youth, InnoHUB, is a project developed and implemented with the support of DROSOS Foundation at Heliopolis University Entrepreneurship Center for Social Impact-ECSI.
With the aim of turning ‘Ideas Into Impact’, InnoHUB project is designed to support young people in their journeys in turning research and innovation into sustainable solutions for a better future.
InnoHUB runs for three years and focuses on young innovators in Egypt. The project, spanning over three years, is designed to empower youth with the practical and entrepreneurial skills needed to kick start their startups and bring their innovative ideas to life.
Every InnoHUB participant receives structured training and consultations. Participants will go into a full incubation cycle providing them with training and consultations that will shape their entrepreneurial vision and gain the skills needed for product development and fabrication.
InnoHUB also offers mentorship and hands-on access to a prototyping facility. They will also get the chance to learn from and network with industry experts, innovators and experienced mentors to gain the necessary coaching and technical skills needed, while also gaining access to Rapid Prototyping Facility-RPF equipped with the required tools and equipment for prototyping their products.
From Ideas to Real Solutions
InnoHUB Eligibility Criteria
Personal Checklist
- Age: between 18 to 35 years old
- Nationality: Egyptian
- School Education: Completed high school diploma
- Higher education: Undergraduate or postgraduate are applicable
- Work status: accepting employees
- Good command of English language
Prototype Checklist
- It should be novel and different from existing products or technologies
- It’s already developed, or can be developed during the camp, within a 3-month duration
- It should clearly state the targeted end users
- It should be applicable within the three fields of interest, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, or Environment
- It should be described in detail, and accompanied by schematic diagrams, infographics, articles .. etc.
Idea/Innovation Checklist
- Must be the sole owner of the idea/invention or delegated by co-owners to represent them
- It should be novel and different from existing product ideas
- It should be converted to a functional prototype within 3 months
- It should be in one of these phases; idea, proof of concept, or prototype
- It doesn’t have to be patented, but it would be a plus
- It should be described in detail, supported by schematic diagrams, infographics, articles .. etc.
- Innovation must address one of three thematic areas as follows: Agriculture & Water, Renewable Energy, Environment; including Climate Change
Competition Phase
Round 2
Application & Screening
- Applications will only be accepted via the dedicated application form on HU website and within the specified deadline
- Applications will be reviewed by a panel of experts for their novelty, applicability and feasibility of implementation within the available timeframe
- Short-listed candidates will be invited to the next phase
- Deadline for Application is Sunday 21 December 2025
Pitching
Shortlisted candidates will pitch their ideas in front of a Jury of experts in the different fields of their innovation. They will respond to questions of the jury members, who will evaluate their ideas and select the most innovative and appropriate to benefit from the camp.
The Camp
Shortlisted contestants will be hosted at the Sekem farm for a period of 12 weeks to implement their project, working at the Rapid Prototyping Facility at HU.
During this period of 12 weeks, they will receive technical assistance and mentorship from subject matter experts, experienced engineers, product developers & designers and innovation experts. They will compete against each other through multiple elimination stages.
Note: All travel and accommodation expenses and the expenses of mentoring and building the prototypes will be assumed by HU
Elimination Stages
There will be 4 elimination stages as follows:
Proof of Concept – Engineering – Prototyping – Customer Validation
Each competition phase will last a few weeks. Supported by mentors, the contestants will attempt to achieve the pre-set goals of each phase. The best achievers will be selected to proceed to the next phase.
The Final Event!
This is a live event organised about one week after the last stage. Around 3-5 finalists are prepared for the event through training on marketing and pitching their prototypes/products to a wider audience by marketing and communication experts.
The event will be attended by on-site audience, including the mentors, representatives of the partner institutions and other invitees. In addition, the event will be live streamed on Youtube and other media.
The final scores and ranking of the contestants will be awarded 50% by the jury and 50% by the audience (on-site and remote) voting.
The Winner will get 5000 USD, in addition to an opportunity for incubation.
Anyone who meets the eligibility criteria:
- Age: 18-35 years at the time of application;
- Resident in Egypt;
- With at least a high school diploma;
- Higher Education Student (under or post-graduate) or employed;
- With a novel idea or invention that can eventually be commercialised;
- Must be the sole owner of the idea or assigned by the co-owners to solely present and develop it;
- The idea can be converted to a functional prototype in maximum 3 months;
- Innovation addressing one of these 3 thematic areas:
- Agriculture & Water
- Renewable Energy
- Environment, including Climate Change;
- Good command of English Language.
Yes, we expect potential candidates to apply in English. We believe that in today’s world, innovators should be able to communicate in English since most of the available resources needed for their projects are in English. However, we will do our best to accommodate those candidates who are not proficient in English, esp. those whose university studies are/were conducted in Arabic. In certain cases, upon request of the applicant, we will allow applications in Arabic language and, if short-listed, we will build the capacity of those individuals to improve their language skills.
No, the entire cost of travel, accommodation and development of each idea is covered.
Although we understand that contributions by older individuals are just as valuable and important, this initiative is dedicated primarily to the youth of Egypt, esp. in rural areas. Therefore, applicants who do not fall in the age category of 18-35 at the time of application, will not be eligible to proceed.
If you succeed in being selected for the InnoHUB workshop, you will receive extremely valuable capacity building in the form of technical assistance, advice, one-on-one mentoring and coaching to transform your idea into a functional prototype.
Additionally, if you will pass the elimination phases and are selected as one of the 3-5 finalists, you will be provided with vital connections and links with investors, business angels, incubators, consumers and firms that will increase the potential of commercialising your eventual product. The finalists will also be provided with funding for the legal expenses related to protecting their innovation (e.g. drafting the IPR), if applicable.
There are also financial awards for the first 3 finalists.
A team of experts from various scientific, technical and professional backgrounds will review the applications submitted online and assess them based on the following criteria:
Novelty, feasibility, applicability of the idea and the candidates’ resourcefulness and readiness for the camp and competition.
The preliminary start date of the workshop is the last week of March 2025.
We are willing to consider ideas or inventions that improve upon existing inventions or products, or add to them by making them more suitable for the local environment or more sustainable, as long as they do not violate any existing patents related to the original idea or product. However, there must be an added value for the innovative idea or invention and not just a copy of an existing one.
Yes, application with the innovation that was already competing in previous competitions is allowed.
Candidates can submit more than one application for different ideas if they wish. However, keep in mind that in case you were shortlisted, you will be required to work on the selected idea only.
Yes, if the final impact is demonstrated to be in one of these fields.
We will consider projects in various stages of development, whether it’s in the phase of idea, proof of concept, engineering, prototyping or early design stages. However, if you have a functional product in the phase of commercialisation, then you should approach one of the business development initiatives and not InnoHUB.
Yes, you can submit a new application, with the remark that this version is replacing the previous. So, if more than one application with the same idea is submitted, we will consider the latest submitted version before the deadline.