As the American reality television programme Shark Tank makes its regional debut in Egypt, the Middle East may soon see an increase in dangerous waters.
The multi-Emmy award-winning programme has cemented itself in the public consciousness with its cutthroat attitude and, perhaps more importantly, the way it has made entrepreneurship seem approachable to a wider audience. In it, aspiring innovators pitch their product and service ideas to a panel of venture capitalists, affectionately known as “sharks.” Sony Pictures will soon begin accepting applications from businesspeople who want to travel to Egypt and compete in front of a panel of judges from the region, whose names have not yet been released, in an effort to replicate that success in the Middle East.
A 2009 adaption of “The Tigers of Money” (2001), the first season of Shark Tank the Japanese TV programme that gave rise to the format. Since becoming an international phenomenon in Japan, “The Tigers of Money” has spawned a number of sequels, including two in the Middle East: “Dragons’ Den: Al Aareen” (2007) in Lebanon and “El Mashroua” (2013) in Egypt. Although this new programme would officially mark the format’s second appearance in Egypt, it would do it for the first time under the term “Shark Tank.”
