ICT & Innovation
From The Report: Egypt 2022
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The development of Egypt’s ICT sector is supported by concerted efforts to diversify and develop a knowledge-based economy. Indeed, ICT’s contribution to GDP steadily rose from $5.1bn in FY 2017/18 to $8bn in FY 2020/21. Moreover, the pandemic saw a swift increase in demand for telecom services. In September 2021 the authorities announced a $360m plan to provide more than 60m people in 4500 villages with fibre-to-the-home internet. Moreover, the establishment of smart cities will also drive the adoption of next-generation technologies such as the cloud computing, artificial intelligence and 5G, with the internet’s contribution to GDP forecast to expand from $15.5bn in 2020 to $26bn in 2025 and $103.3bn in 2050. Finally, the government is working to develop digital payments and online shopping that will help sustain investment as companies adapt to meet new customer demands. This chapter contains an interview with Adel Hamid, CEO, Telecom Egypt.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Digital drive: Telecoms saw a rise in demand during the pandemic, while new regulations and strategies support the shift to a digital economy
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The development of Egypt’s ICT sector is supported by concerted efforts to diversify the economy and develop knowledge-based industries. In FY 2019/20 and FY 2020/21 the sector’s growth significantly outpaced that of the broader economy. This trend is set to continue, with the government working to bolster internet access in rural areas, improve service delivery, and develop infrastructure that will support data centres and technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). The acceleration of…

Interview

Racing ahead: Adel Hamid, CEO, Telecom Egypt, on using technology to drive digital transformation and facilitate smart city development
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Interview:Adel Hamid How is Egypt’s ICT infrastructure changing to support the development of smart cities? ADEL HAMID: The smart city transformation fuelled by ICT solutions can help reduce energy consumption, and reinforce pollution monitoring and governance. It also offers improved safety and security. Egypt is developing such technology in line with the Digital Egypt Strategy. Telecom Egypt is building ICT infrastructure in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) and 17 other smart cities,…

Analysis

Support network: Investment vehicles and state initiatives facilitate start-up growth
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Egypt has an established and dynamic start-up ecosystem, with company founders working across verticals to create innovative digital solutions. The country is home to the fourth-largest ecosystem of start-ups in Africa, with 562 active tech start-ups, according to a 2021 report from Disrupt Africa. Nearly 94% of startups are based in Cairo, with Alexandria accounting for 3.6% and the remainder in cities such as Assuit, Qena and Mansoura. Even as the Covid-19 pandemic slowed start-up launches, it…

Analysis

A new direction: Countries are adapting to the proliferation of digital platforms and services fuelled by the pandemic
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The onset of the pandemic in 2020 gave rise to global acceleration in the uptake of digital platforms and services. This surge was consolidated in 2021, as it became clear – in emerging and developed economies alike – that digital is the new normal. While in some ways 2020 was reactive, with governments and businesses scrambling to implement digital approaches, 2021 was proactive, as those approaches were streamlined and synthesised. As countries went in and out of lockdown in response to successive…