Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hindy said that Egypt’s ICT sector grew by 24.3% in the fourth quarter of the 2025/2026 fiscal year, its highest growth rate ever. He said outsourcing exports reached $5.1 billion by the end of 2025, with the ministry targeting $8 billion by 2028, alongside efforts to localize electronics manufacturing, increase local added value and expand the outsourcing industry.
Speaking at the opening of the sixth Tech Invest Egypt conference, Hindy said the government views entrepreneurship as a key driver of an innovation-based digital economy. He emphasized that the state is working to address challenges facing startups, including financing, growth, market access and attracting and retaining talent.
The minister outlined his ministry’s priorities for building a competitive digital economy, including accelerating digital transformation, localizing technology, developing digital skills and infrastructure, improving sector governance, supporting investment and innovation, and maintaining digital sovereignty.
He highlighted the Creativa Innovation Hubs, operating in more than 20 governorates, which provide entrepreneurs with support ranging from skills development and incubation to technical, legal and marketing advice and connections with investors. On artificial intelligence, Hindy said technology represents a major opportunity for Egyptian companies.
He pointed to Egyptian expertise in language processing, speech-to-text, translation and healthcare applications, and said the Egyptian large language model “Karnak”, along with the “Loghat” and “Bel Masry” applications, were launched on a pilot basis last month.
He also said the ministry is working to provide advanced computing resources to researchers and developers and is preparing a competition to encourage AI innovation and enable startups to develop solutions for government institutions. The sixth Tech Invest Egypt conference, organized by the Digital Economy and Technology General Division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce in strategic partnership with ITIDA, brings together government representatives, businesses, investors, entrepreneurs and startups.
Its sessions address ICT investment, corporate AI strategies, startup financing and expansion, and personal data protection. The Visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Egypt President El-Sisi receives Chinese President Xi Jinping