Egyptian Youth Win Big at Shell Innovation Competition

Egyptian students are proving that the next generation has what it takes to solve today's biggest challenges, and they're getting recognized for it.

At the EGYPES 2026 Youth Impact Ceremony in Egypt this week, young innovators swept awards for projects tackling everything from online gaming addiction to sustainable agriculture. Shell Egypt and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources hosted the event to celebrate winners from two major youth programs.

The Will Power team took first place in the NXplorers competition with their project addressing gaming addiction, a growing concern among young people worldwide. Two other teams, SOIL and a tie between Green Vision and Impact Makers, rounded out the winners with their own innovative solutions.

"Developing talent starts with giving people the tools to think differently and the space to apply those skills to real challenges," said Dalia El Gabry, Vice President and Country Chair of Shell Egypt. The programs help students move beyond theory and build actual business models.

In the startup pitch competition called Intilaaqah, sports-tech company Riadi claimed the top spot with its digital platform for sports services. Booking platform Bookit finished second, while agri-tech venture Herbanol and sustainable materials startup Carbonera shared third place honors.

The ceremony also highlighted Egyptian universities making waves in engineering competitions. Menoufia University scored second place in the Data and Telemetry Award at the Shell Eco-marathon in Doha, while Cairo University ranked fourth in the Urban Concept category and completed its first successful electric prototype run since 2019.

The Ripple Effect

These young entrepreneurs aren't just winning awards. They're building solutions that could reshape Egypt's tech and energy sectors for decades to come. By connecting early-stage innovators with Egypt's broader energy ecosystem, the programs create pathways for student projects to become real businesses that employ people and solve problems.

The diversity of winning projects shows how wide-ranging youth innovation has become. From helping peers break free from gaming addiction to creating sustainable building materials, these students saw gaps in their communities and filled them.

Egypt's investment in youth talent today is building tomorrow's problem-solvers, one competition at a time.