Egyptian startup infrastructure company GrowthLabs has acquired founder-investor networking platform Startup Gate in a deal valued at nearly USD 657,000 (EGP 35 million), as it moves to build what it describes as MENA’s first integrated digital infrastructure for startups.
- Egyptian startup infrastructure company GrowthLabs has acquired founder-investor networking platform Startup Gate in a deal valued at nearly USD 657,000...
- The noncash agreement features an equity-swap component alongside performance-tied earn-outs, with M-Empire, which seed-funded Startup Gate and orchestrated the acquisition,...
- The company now moves to consolidate that reach by absorbing one of the region’s most active founder-investor networks.
- Startup Gate, founded in 2025, provides the front-end community, connecting early-stage founders with investors, mentors, and service providers.
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The acquisition combines GrowthLabs’ accelerator management software, Catalyst OS, with Startup Gate’s founder and investor network to create a unified platform for entrepreneurship programmes, funding access, and startup support across the region.
The noncash agreement features an equity-swap component alongside performance-tied earn-outs, with M-Empire, which seed-funded Startup Gate and orchestrated the acquisition, now holding an equity stake in GrowthLabs.
Founded by Islam Mohamed, GrowthLabs says it has supported more than 5,000 startups through over 60 international programmes. The company now moves to consolidate that reach by absorbing one of the region’s most active founder-investor networks.
One Platform, Two Products
The acquisition merges two distinct sides of the regional startup support industry. GrowthLabs brings its proprietary Catalyst OS, a backend operating system used by incubators, accelerators, and entrepreneurship programmes to manage initiatives and measure cohort metrics. Startup Gate, founded in 2025, provides the front-end community, connecting early-stage founders with investors, mentors, and service providers.
The combined platform will support startups from opportunity discovery and networking to funding access, incubation, acceleration, and innovation support programmes.
Aimee Tawfik said: “the acquisition marks a natural transition toward a fully integrated operating ecosystem supporting startups from inception to scale.”
GrowthLabs CEO Islam Mohamed told EnterpriseAM the move will see GrowthLabs restructure into a holding company with two core products: its existing incubator management software, Catalyst OS, and the newly acquired Startup Gate.
Expansion Into Five New Markets
As part of its 2026 strategy, the company plans to launch seven corporate innovation programmes and introduce a cross-border entrepreneurial community across MENA aimed at facilitating investment flows, talent connectivity, and collaboration between startup ecosystems.
The acquisition comes as companies supporting startup ecosystems across MENA increasingly move toward consolidation, combining founder networks, investor access, and operational tools into more connected platforms. GrowthLabs has confirmed plans to expand into five new countries by year’s end, pushing the combined GrowthLabs-Startup Gate platform deeper into the Gulf and Africa.