Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

ICT Strategy

Digital Egypt

Egypt’s ICT 2030 Strategy

Digital Egypt

In alignment with Egypt Vision 2030, and Egypt’s digital transformation strategy, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has embarked on building Digital Egypt. Digital Egypt is an all-encompassing vision and plan, laying the foundations for the transformation of Egypt into a digital society. To usher this transition to a digital society and build a strong digital economy, "Digital Egypt" is built on three main planks:

Digital Transformation
Digital Skills and Jobs
Digital Innovation

Recognizing the ICT role in developing the public sector for the advancement and improvement of services delivered to citizens, MCIT seeks to create public value, in terms of value for individuals through easy access to government transactions and information, and value for government in terms of doing more for less. Egypt has been adopting a robust strategy and strong course of action in transforming the existing government services and community ecosystem to an entirely digital and data driven ecosystem, to provide public services in a faster and simpler way. MCIT cooperates with all sectors of the state to achieve digital transformation through two pillars: services provided to citizens and improvement of government performance.

All public services are to be provided to citizens digitally nationwide. Egyptian citizens, anywhere in the country, will be able to receive these services in a digital format. Several methods of online payment of service fees were made available.

Several e-services have been developed and launched for a number of entities, including law enforcement, notarization, personal status, family courts, supply, electricity, agriculture, traffic, real estate registration, Mortgage Finance Fund (MFF), and the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI).

Digital Egypt e-Platform

MCIT has launched several projects, implemented within the framework of building Digital Egypt to make digital government services available to citizens through five outlets; namely, Digital Egypt e-platform, mobile applications, call centers (15999), post offices and citizen service centers.

" Digital Egypt e-platform has been launched to provide better, wider and more effective access to a wide range of public services. A number of government services of the first phase have been launched on Digital Egypt platform among the service packages of traffic, supply, notary, real estate, court, commercial register and real estate tax in cooperation with the service-providing entities. The second phase is to include the launch of other services among the packages of court, social housing and civil status services. Different payment methods have been made available to electronically pay for the services, including e-payment companies, mobile wallets and credit cards.

Building the Egyptian Citizen to be ready for the future and the digital transformation era is the first step in promoting Digital Egypt. A digital society can't be built without having the right level, the right expertise and the right number of human resources that will carry this mission. MCIT took into consideration providing training and building capacities of all society segments, including school and university students, graduates, professionals, women, and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), in addition to Arab and African young people. MCIT seeks to expand Egypt's skill pool and experiences within the various specializations of the ICT industry.

An integrated strategy has been developed to build a base of digital competences. The training plan is implemented in cooperation with major technology companies and global universities to build digital competences in all fields at various levels and integrate traditional and remote digital learning models.

This strategy is being achieved by following a hierarchical approach that starts with:

Digital literacy,
Intermediate technology training programs,
Advanced technological training programs that aim at preparing a generation of skilled technicians who are able to compete in the labor market, and
The top of the training pyramid is to award a specialized practical master's degree to thousand learners every year through the Digital Egypt Builders Initiative (DEBI), which is implemented in cooperation with major technology companies and international universities.

To learn more about MCIT digital capacity building initiatives, kindly click here.

MCIT seeks to build and foster an ecosystem that encourages entrepreneurship and spurs creativity. It also endeavors to promote research and development, innovation and entrepreneurship in the field of ICT to drive sector growth, support sustainable national development and position Egypt as a regional innovation hub. MCIT adopts effective policies on ICT-based innovation through concerted efforts among stakeholders, including the government sector; academic and research institutions; financial institutions; the private sector; entrepreneurs; and the support networks that incubate creative ideas and convert them into value-added products to meet the sustainable development challenges.

MCIT is keen on integrating advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the digital system, and activating its applications in support of decision-making, within the framework of implementing the national AI strategy. Egypt’s AI Strategy seeks to create an AI Industry in Egypt, including the development of skills, technology, ecosystem, infrastructure and governance mechanisms to ensure its sustainability and competitiveness. Egypt has embarked on a number of key initiatives to address Egypt’s development goals in the key sectors using AI, and formed the National AI Council, led by MCIT, which is the governing body for Egypt’s AI strategy. In addition, MCIT has developed the National AI Strategy, in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. To learn more, kindly click here.

MCIT supports Egyptian young entrepreneurs with newly-established startups, or those who are willing to turn their ideas into successful business, through providing fully-fledged incubation packages including financial support, in-kind services, mentors, needed software and hardware for ICT startups. It also supports startup growth and creates an innovation culture among Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt. It helps them build their capacities to generate and implement innovative ideas for a better business future, through offering professional consultancy services, establishing public-private partnerships, or offering a free working and exchange space. According to a report published in March 2020, by MAGNiTT, a renowned startup platform, Egypt recorded the highest number of startup funding and investment deals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, during the first quarter of 2020, achieving 37% of the total number of deals.

To learn more about initiatives and programs for promoting innovation and startup eco-system, kindly visit:

Innovation
ICT Industry Development

The Applied Innovation Center (AIC) has been established to promote the use of emerging technologies in tackling, analyzing and solving national challenges, with the aim to attain sustainable development in different sectors, including agriculture, healthcare and education, as well as developing the human capital and creating an enabling environment for the growth of innovative startups. It cooperates with global companies in specialized research projects to develop practical solutions to overcome the challenges facing the society and build advanced skills in various disciplines. AIC is currently implementing projects in health, agriculture, urban planning, macroeconomics, language processing, and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) accuracy improvement.

To learn more, kindly click here.

The Knowledge City is being established on an area of 211 feddans, in the New Administrative Capital as a regional hub for creativity and innovation centers specialized in advanced technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), embedded systems, and others. The City will also comprise all the ICT industry elements including training centers, technology incubators and business accelerators. This is in addition to international and local companies specializing in ICTs.

Digital Infrastructure

Developing the digital infrastructure is one of the bases upon which the three main pillars of Digital Egypt are built.

MCIT has launched several major projects to improve the quality of fixed broadband in Egypt. This plan helped improve Egypt's ranking in terms of Internet speed. In addition, to boost communication services, main roads and certain areas in governorates have been covered with mobile networks. Mobile services provided to citizens are being also improved by speeding up the issuance of permits for building cell towers for mobile operators, in addition to offering new frequencies that improve network efficiency and communication services quality.

A new network of fiber optic cables is being established to connect 32,500 government buildings across the nation within the fiber optic network. It is to link the buildings with fiber optic cables, to boost communication speed and provide a more resilient service. To boost the information infrastructure, schools nationwide are also being connected with the fiber optic network, to provide high-speed Internet to schools and a plan is currently implemented to connect villages with fiber optic cables to boost Internet.

In an effort to provide an efficient infrastructure, post offices have been developed to provide a range of basic services to citizens, including government, financial inclusion and postal services. Post offices now serve as an outlet of financial inclusion services, connecting clients with service providers. They offer now a range of services, including microfinance and micro-insurance services, where citizens submit applications, register their data, receive funding and pay premiums. Egypt post is also currently looking into launching a digital mobile wallet that will help customers get microloans, pay bills, pay for purchases, and transfer money. This is in addition to post kiosks and mobile post offices that have developed and equipped nationwide to provide all services delivered by post offices nationwide.

Legislative/Regulatory Framework

Given the huge changes Egypt is witnessing in the provision of telecommunications services and the transition into a digital society, the government of Egypt has given priority to developing the ICT sector, coping up with technological leaps and creating a new state-of-the-art ecosystem through issuing a number of laws that regulate this sector. MCIT is cooperating with the state's other sectors to reform the legislative environment, through proposing a number of laws. The cybercrime law, the intellectual property, consumer protection and e-signature laws have been enacted.

In addition, Egypt has issued the Personal Data Protection Law, which is in line with international laws and the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the executive regulation implementing “the Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes” Law.