Unicorns: from mythology to 1 thousand million worth companies

Dreaming costs nothing, which prominent entrepreneurs keep in mind when they gallop their businesses on the path to success. At present some of them have turned their businesses into mythological unicorns… If you don’t know yet what a unicorn company is, you should read this article till the end. Perhaps you may convert your company into one of them in Egypt.

In 2013 the economist, Aileen Lee, introduced the term “start-up unicorns”, referring to those companies that boosted their growth by relying on social media & technology. By the time, those little foals got prized for more than 1 thousand million dollars even without being listed in the stocks, but then you may wonder: What makes a startup unicorn different from other companies? Basically, they share the same essence:?

1. Customer experience is their number one priority.
2. They rely on social media to strengthen their communication with their customers.
3. Their fund is based on private resources, not on stocks
4. Diversity is their strength: their teams are multidisciplinary & multicultural.
5. They aim to solve real-life global issues through technological solutions.?
6. They use the Get Big Fast strategy, they expand on the market rapidly by reducing prices to reach a bigger market and improve their competitive position.

Egypt, the land that gave birth to one of the oldest civilizations, recently gave birth to its first unicorn just in 2020, Fawry, a leading digital E-payment platform. What makes this unicorn a rare specimen, is how it used threats to become stronger. The pandemic was the trampoline that boosted its growth, due to the lockdown. Egyptians preferred digital payments to avoid contact instead of a direct way, making Fawry the firsthand solution for commercial transactions in Egypt.

But for making a unicorn grow and survive, it needs a healthy ecosystem translated into a stable economic and political environment. Behind Fawry’s success, we can spotlight the efforts of the Egyptian government to face COVID-19 contingency.? In order to prepare a good ground for growing business, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) boosted the development of telecommunications seeking to convert Egypt into a digital society. The priorities are to build a secure, reliable, and accessible infrastructure to develop telecommunications infrastructure.

On the other hand, the investment climate in Egypt has included numerous legislative and institutional reforms to ease procedures, allowing startups to give their first steps on the ground fast and easy, numbers demonstrate it, according to UNCTAD, Egypt was the most country that received FDI in Africa during 2020 receiving about $ 7.5 billion.

Having a brilliant idea is a good start, having the field grow is determinant of its success. If you consider you’re ready to level up your company, all you have to do is email us at [email protected].? Our talented jockeys will guide you through best practices to evolve your company.? What do you need to turn your company into the next unicorn in the market?