The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MOETE) awarded Alexandria Advanced Technical School students Mohamed Mahmoud Attia and Moemen Magdy Mohamed the grand prize of the Fanni Mobtaker Competition for Entrepreneurship and Innovation for their digital modeling and fabrication machine for prototype development.

“We not only honor the winners, but recognize and celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative energy of Egypt’s technical school students,” said Rebecca Latorraca, USAID/Egypt Acting Mission Director.  “In the past three years, the partnership between the MOETE and USAID has made great strides in strengthening Egypt’s technical school system and preparing youth for their transition to meaningful work in the labor market.”

Through its Workforce Improvement and Skills Enhancement (WISE) project, USAID is collaborating with MOETE to improve technical secondary education to meet the needs of the job market. WISE worked with local firm IdeaSpace to design the Fanni Mobtaker Competition to advance innovation and entrepreneurship among technical students. In total, 1,364 project teams submitted applications for the competition, 188 were accepted, and 24 teams reached the final stage. 

USAID’s support of the WISE project is part of the $30 billion that the American people have invested in Egypt through USAID since 1978. To learn more about USAID's work in Egypt, please see https://www.usaid.gov/egypt and follow along on Facebook and Twitter at @USAIDEgypt.