Recent research backed by DP World and conducted by Economist Impact indicates that despite a challenging 2023 and concerns over geopolitical events affecting the economy, Egyptian businesses remain optimistic for 2024. The fourth Trade in Transition report underscores a surge in technology adoption and agile trade strategies among businesses. The study reflects insights from global trade experts and senior executives, including those from Egypt. Facing heightened inflation, interest rates, and market downturns, Egyptian companies are reevaluating risks through friendshoring—aligning with suppliers from economically and politically similar countries, exploring new markets for export growth, and implementing dual-sourcing strategies. The survey reveals that 28% of Egyptian executives plan to leverage technology to enhance supply chain efficiency and agility in the context of global trade's future. Technology also fuels business optimism. Nearly half of the executives (48%) recognized their firms' use of AI in 2023 to transform supply chain operations, with an additional 20% aiming to adopt it in 2024. They are also exploring advanced automation (33%) and blockchain (28%) to improve traceability, security, and data protection. For Egyptian businesses, consolidation is a priority, aiming to minimize supply disruptions. They face a balancing act between diversification and control, and risk management. 34% are practicing friendshoring to shape trade and supply chain operations, while 31% are creating parallel supply chains for different markets. About a third are choosing fewer suppliers. As Egypt's economy expands into new sectors and positions itself as a manufacturing hub in Africa, 28% of executives view market expansion as the key driver for export growth. Europe (37%) and North America (34%) are expected to significantly boost export revenue in 2024. Technological advancements (35%) are anticipated to increase output levels and import values. While business leaders maintain cautious optimism, they confront substantial export and import challenges due to transportation costs, input shortages, rising inflation, economic volatility, tariff uncertainties, and political instability in crucial markets. Rizwan Soomar, CEO & Managing Director of DP World for North Africa & the Indian Subcontinent, commented: "Aware of current economic and geopolitical hurdles, we echo the optimism of the surveyed Egyptian executives. They aim to fortify their supply chains with technology and explore new growth markets. These findings align with DP World's initiatives in Egypt, where technology implementation addresses business challenges and bolsters resilient supply chains. For instance, at the Port of Ain Sokhna, our technology has improved truck turnaround times by 35% and vessel productivity by 16%. We've also introduced multi-channel payment solutions and customer self-service applications for real-time data access, enhancing cargo control and visibility. Together with our development of end-to-end logistics solutions in Egypt, underpinned by DP World's CARGOES suite of technology platforms, we aim to build resilient supply chain solutions that enable businesses to navigate the challenges of trade seamlessly and efficiently."
