By Mohamed Kamal
Cairo-based Circle, a property management mobile application that enables property managers to better engage with their tenants, handle their requests and reduce operational costs, was announced the ‘Best of Ecosystem’ winner at the AfricArena Virtual Startup Pitch Series held in Cairo, recently.
This highly competitive event was part of the series of the AfricArena Tour to select the best tech innovators from the Egypt tech ecosystem. The event was held in partnership with Ideaspace. Among the seven startups that participated, Circle was named the best disruptive startup to win the pre-qualifiying round and represent Egypt at the Grand Stage at the 4th Annual AfricArena Summit to be held in Cape Town, South Africa in March 2021. The team has won flight tickets and accommodation to attend this high-profile event.
Commenting on the announcement, Nany Kamal, CEO and Co-founder of Circle said: “We are extremely proud and honored to have won the overly aggressive pitch competition. This is our first win and we are delighted not only to present our business concepts before an international audience but above all to represent Egypt at this prestigious event in Cape Town. Presenting our business model and convincing the expert judges was not an easy task.”
“This recognition is a testament of our team’s hard work, dedication and commitment to achieve our goals in the short run and beyond. Covid-19 posed a difficult time for many startups but proved a great blessing for us. We were able to double our user numbers as many property managers realized the significance of the app and used it to provide seamless, efficient services and deliver an amazing experience for their clients. We are now preparing for the Grand finale and eagerly looking forward to perform our best to win the award.”
At the AfricArena Virtual Startup Pitch Series held in Egypt, seven incredible startups which included Circle, Xpay , WideBot, Mazboot, Faggala.com, Mawarrid and Clickmare.com presented their business concepts to an elite panel of judges. The leading panel of judges included Dr. Nezar N. Sami, Founder of Nilepreneurs and Board member at IAMOT and ACSR, Hesham Wahby, CEO and Principal of Cultiv, Rafeh Saleh, former management consultant and Ahmed Ossama, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Bringy Digital Ventures.
Circle was founded by Nancy Kamal and Essam Maged in 2020 to help property managers to streamline their communication with their clients especially the gated communities in Egypt. The mobile app can be downloaded on both Android and iOS Smartphones and offers Community Management and Sales and Marketing features. Its easy-to-use and enhances the experience of living in a compound.
The app provides the user a wide range of services under community management which include, visitor permissions, maintenance work orders and payments, amenity reservations etc. For the Real-estate developers, they can gain full control over tenant requests, work smart, fast and better manage their resources and cut operational costs. Besides, set up a virtual sales office, receive notifications, set up appointments etc. Some of the major clients include Mountain View, Inertia Developments, MISR Italia Properties, New Plan Developments, El Attal Holding, Palm Hills Developments and many more.
AfricArena accelerates the growth of tech startups and the ecosystems in which they operate by providing a platform where they can share their business model, gain valuable networks and attain funding. The AfricArena Tour is the pre-selection process for the AfricArena Summit. The annual AfricArena Summit is a unique gathering of Africa’s groundbreaking startups and prominent international and local investors and corporates who are looking for world-class talent to set up partnerships. AfricArena scours the major ecosystems of the continent in search of tech startups that have the potential to disrupt.