The United Kingdom has confirmed its intention to invest £1 million in startup businesses in Egypt.

An announcement by the British Embassy in Cairo explains that the commitment is a show of confidence in both the vibrant start-up scene in Egypt, as well as the number of existing enterprises already tackling social challenges.

"Many of these have already been on display at this year's RISEUP summit, which HMA John Casson was excited to be speak at last week and expressed his enthusiasm to join as a speaker, and which the UK recognises as a leading gathering of the start-up community in the Middle East. It also recognises the importance of small businesses in creating economic opportunities and jobs," the statement continues.

Successful entrepreneurs will benefit from funding, technical advice as well as access to an international network of entrepreneurs, according to the Embassy.

Officials explain that the UK funding will invite proposals from entrepreneurs who can demonstrate that their idea is both commercially viable, but also of wider benefit to society.

"Examples of social impact would be that it helps create jobs, gives opportunities to women, supports deprived regions, or improves access to or delivery of public services (health and education in particular). The final selection will be in the form of a competition with winners selected by an independent panel of experts," the statement continues.

"Successful entrepreneurs will benefit from funding, technical advice as well as access to an international network of entrepreneurs. We invite others already engaged in this work in Egypt (angel investors in particular) to propose how we might work together on this important initiative."

British Ambassador, John Casson said at the RISEUP summit: "I challenge all of the startup community present today at the RISEUP summit, to bring the same energy to solving Egypt's social challenges as they already bring to pursuing their business dreams."

Meanwhile the country's ICT and telecommunications industries have experienced a significant increase in activity of late, with the recent announcement by Egypt's National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) that it has reached agreements for the establishment and operation of 4G networks by Vodafone Egypt, Etisalat Misr and Orange Egypt.

A three way agreement has been signed between Egypt's National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and the National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) to rollout a specialised training programme for the development of technical and professional capacities in the establishment, operation and maintenance of fiber-optic networks in the country.