Egypt's information and communications technology (ICT) sector has maintained strong growth over the past seven years, with contributions to GDP rising from 3.2 per cent to 6 per cent in 2025, ICT Minister Amr Talaat said Monday. Speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, Talaat highlighted that the sector has consistently achieved annual growth rates between 14 per cent and 16 per cent. Digital exports surged 124 per cent to $7.4 billion from $3.3 billion in 2018, while outsourcing exports doubled from $2.4 billion in 2022 to $4.8 billion in 2025. The number of ICT companies in Egypt increased from 90 to 240, operating more than 270 outsourcing centres nationwide. The minister outlined Egypt's Digital Strategy, which focuses on four pillars: enhancing digital innovation, improving citizen services, boosting GDP and exports, and creating jobs in the digital economy. The strategy relies on robust digital infrastructure and a supportive legislative environment. Talaat emphasised efforts to expand the ICT workforce, noting that the number of trainees in technology fields grew from 4,000 in 2018/2019 to 500,000 last year, with a target of 800,000 in the current fiscal year. Programmes combine formal education, vocational training, and digital platforms, aiming to equip professionals with technical, language, and entrepreneurial skills. He also highlighted the growth of the Egypt University of Informatics and WE Schools of Applied Technology, now operating 27 campuses nationwide, alongside digital training initiatives such as the Mahara-Tech Platform and Digitopia Hackathon. The minister noted Egypt's progress in mobile phone manufacturing, with 15 brands producing locally and production rising from 3.3 million units in 2024 to 10 million in 2025, achieving around 40 per cent local value added. Talaat also reported that the Egypt Digital Services platform now offers 210 government services to over 10 million users, processing roughly 2 million transactions monthly. Investments of $6 billion since 2019 have upgraded fixed and mobile internet networks, increasing average speeds 16-fold to 91.3 Mbps. Expansion of fibre-optic networks aims to connect 4,500 villages under the Hayah Karima Initiative, alongside the rollout of 5G, Wi-Fi calling, and IoT services. The minister highlighted Egypt's strategic position in global digital connectivity by saying the country now carries more than 90 per cent of internet data traffic between Asia and Europe via 21 international submarine cables, six of which are currently under construction. He underscored legislative and policy reforms, including the Anti-Cybercrime Law, Personal Data Protection Law, the Egyptian Responsible AI Charter, Cloud-First Policy, and Open Data Policy. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
