Why Microsoft, Uber And 500 startups came to downtown Cairo

Outside the entrance of the GrEEK Campus, the line to get into the third RiseUp Summit was an hour long at 9 a.m., but everyone was waiting more-or-less patiently.

Sobhieh Yaafury had come from Lebanon with her three daughters, 26, 24 and 10. The two older daughters already work in technology in Beirut, but the family thought they’d get a look at what was going on in Egypt, in case there were opportunities to learn or advance here. “I’m standing always with them,” explained Yaafury. “I’m glad they’re moving ahead, doing things.”

In the United States, home to Facebook FB -2.94% billionaires and Silicon Valley TV shows, tech entrepreneurship stands for glamour and power. In the Middle East and other emerging markets, entrepreneurship stands for hope.

“This is about engaging as many people as possible,” said Microsoft MSFT -1.85% Ali Faramawy, corporate vice president and president for the Middle East and Africa, in an interview after a keynote adress. “We need people with high aspirations.”