Do Egypt's new leaders hate entrepreneurs?

The authors of the draft constitution that will be presented for approval to Egyptian voters over the next few days have quietly erased a provision of utmost importance to the country's entrepreneurs: Article 17 of the previous constitution, which held that "the state will nurture craft industries and small enterprises." The new constitution's much watered-down article reads: "The state encourages the private sector to perform its social responsibility in serving the national economy and society" (Article 36).

This is probably the most revealing declaration by the post-Morsi transition government on entrepreneurship and small business development. Six months into their rule, it is only fitting that we ask: Is there room for entrepreneurship in today's Egypt?

In November, entrepreneurial optimism overtook Cairo during the RiseUp Summit, a local entrepreneurship conference whose list of participants reads like a Who's Who of the Egyptian business-creation ecosystem. Participants discussed everything from personal success stories to fundraising and advertisement tips for startups.

The Summit was held at the new campus housing investor and visionary Ahmed Alfi's latest, ambitious project: the Tahrir Alley Technology Park (TATP), which hopes to become a "mini-Silicon Valley" that will attract both established and budding technology ventures. Now housed at the old location of the American University in Cairo, when it was known as the "Greek Campus," the TATP residents have played up their geek credentials and renamed it "the GrEEK campus" (as seen in the photo above).

Many hope that this collegiate environment, clearly inspired by American tech campuses, will encourage Egyptian knowledge entrepreneurship and ultimately help the stumbling Egyptian economy get back on its feet. And if you had a chance to look at the fresh-faced entrepreneurs demoing their products or listen to the tech community standouts sharing their wisdom and experience, you could be forgiven for thinking that just about anything was possible.