The programme is designed to empower women entrepreneurs to adopt digital tools and artificial intelligence, while providing opportunities for visibility, funding access, and strategic business support.
Visa Inc. has announced the launch of the third round of its “She’s Next” initiative in Egypt, introducing a new format in collaboration with CIB Business Banking and, for the first time, Shark Tank. The programme is designed to empower women entrepreneurs to adopt digital tools and artificial intelligence, while providing opportunities for visibility, funding access, and strategic business support.
Alongside the launch, Visa also unveiled findings from its inaugural Women SMB Digitization Index in Egypt. The report highlights increasing awareness and adoption of digital technologies and AI among women-led businesses, reflecting their growing role in business transformation and long-term competitiveness. The index evaluates businesses across five key areas: online presence, digital payments adoption, payment security awareness, customer engagement, and customer retention.
Applications for the She’s Next competition opened on April 4 and will remain open until May 9, 2026, inviting women entrepreneurs across Egypt to apply for participation in the programme.
“In an effort to understand Women Entrepreneurs struggles and needs in Egypt, Visa ran the Women SMB Digitization Index in 2025, which surveyed Egyptian women business owners who hold a notable share of senior leadership roles to have a better understanding of the motivations and challenges of this important group. The Index scores businesses based on five indicators: online presence, digital payments acceptance, payment security awareness, customer engagement, and customer retention.”
– Malak El Baba, Vice President & Country Manager in Egypt, Libya, and Sudan, Visa
“She’s Next unlocks the boundless potential of women business owners, providing the essential stepping stone to scale and expand collectively. This year’s competition, held in collaboration with Shark Tank Egypt for the first time, gives women entrepreneurs a unique platform to showcase their innovations and gain strategic support. Our Women SMB Digitization Index survey of Egyptian women entrepreneurs highlighted the positive economic impact of women-led businesses. Despite facing personal hurdles and striving for personal growth, women business owners are motivated by financial independence and a deep desire to create supportive work environments that uplift societies—an ethos that is very close to Visa’s own mission of uplifting everyone, everywhere. Women entrepreneurs are embracing payment technologies and artificial intelligence to overcome obstacles and drive their businesses forward, truly demonstrating their progressive mindset.”
– Malak El Baba, Vice President & Country Manager in Egypt, Libya, and Sudan, Visa
“CIB is proud to continue its role as the exclusive banking partner for the third consecutive round of the She’s Next initiative, reinforcing our longstanding commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs and advancing inclusive economic growth across Egypt. Our partnership with Visa and Shark Tank reflects our belief that fostering entrepreneurship is not only a business imperative, but a national priority for sustainable development. By providing women innovators with a platform to showcase their ideas, gain visibility, and access broader opportunities, we are helping unlock the full potential of one of the most powerful drivers of economic progress. At CIB, women-led enterprises represent a growing and increasingly important segment of our SME portfolio, and supporting their success remains integral to our broader vision of building a more inclusive and resilient economy. To further enable this, we provide specialized and dedicated lending programs that lower entry barriers and make it easier for women to access funding to grow their businesses. Alongside our lending program, we also run technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives designed to strengthen their capabilities and accelerate growth. Internally, CIB is committed to ensuring equitable female representation across the organization through our Gender Diversity program, with women now accounting for 36% of total employees and driving the majority of net workforce growth.”
– Hany El Dieb, Head of SMEs and Commercial Banking, CIB
The Women SMB Digitization Index findings highlight key challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Egypt, including barriers such as gender bias, access to capital, and logistics constraints, alongside strong motivations driven by financial independence and business growth. The report also underscores increasing adoption of digital payments and artificial intelligence tools, with many women-led businesses using AI for customer engagement, analytics, and operational efficiency.
Visa stated that the She’s Next initiative continues its global commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs, having invested $3.8 million in over 250 grants and coaching programmes since 2020.
