الفهرس 
Chapter One: Introduction and OverviewOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Increased attention is being directed to promote innovative entrepreneurial firms with the aim of improving economic conditions in Egypt. Technological startups provide the basis for a promising entrepreneurship ecosystem and given the size of the regional market, these startups have a huge potential. However, substantial investments are needed to support their growth. The study investigates venture capital decision making to uncover the most important criteria on which venture capitalists rely when selecting their investments. After a thorough review of the extant literature, the general categories of criteria are identified and used to test a theoretical framework describing the relationship between startup characteristics and VC funding decisions. Unlike previous studies that used surveys or interviews where venture capitalists were presented with a huge number of criteria to rank, the study collects actual verifiable information about Egyptian startups and their markets thus avoiding subjectivity and self-reporting biases. Using logistic regression analysis, findings show that venture capitalists investing in Egypt choose to lower their investment risks by selecting startups with relatively mature products, experienced founders and for which initial financial information exists. The timing at which startups apply to a VC fund is of huge importance and seems to constrain access to capital. In addition, the size of an entrepreneur’s social network is an important factor in attracting non-Egyptian investors. Venture capitalists investing as a part of a syndicate use fewer criteria and are less averse to product and market risks. The study makes use of the promising field of machine learning and cross-validation techniques to ensure that the reached results are generalizable as well as accurate.