In cooperation with the African Union of the German Economy, 2b AHEAD released a market research about Africa 2025, in which it stated that Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia remain economically interesting countries in North Africa, despite all political circumstances. Egypt is the third-most-preferred country for German companies, after South Africa and Nigeria, as the country's economic diversity cannot be found anywhere else in the region, according to the report. The service sector is the most powerful one, followed by the industrial sector. Over 90% of all machines in Egypt are imported, since local machine design and manufacturing cannot catch up with the demand. This drives many companies to seek long term partnerships. The most promising sectors with potential in Egypt are petrochemicals, agriculture, food, packaging, real estate, and textiles. Despite all uncertain political frameworks, Egypt remains the economic haven of North Africa, and it will remain attractive due to its favorable business framework, according to the report. Investment in fixing the infrastructure has gained momentum, not only in building wind energy farms, but also in implementing the eMisr National Broadband Plan, in which $2.4bn will be invested. The amount of companies in Egypt's internet and communication sector has heavily increased from 266 companies in 1999 to 4428 in 2011. About 210,000 people work in this sector, and Egypt has more active SIM cards than actual people, of which 90% are credit-based. More than one third of Egypt's households are connected to the internet, and since 2010, the amount has more than doubled, reaching 30m. Multinational companies culturally adapt their campaigns in Egypt in order to be able to better communicate with the local consumer, which also underlines the importance of that sector. Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco are three of the top ten consuming countries in Africa, mainly due to their young populations. The outlook for these three countries is very positive.
