Egypt

A $9bn deal inked in Egypt will give a substantial boost to the country's electricity generation capacity, helping the government address power shortages and support a growing population and economy.  

Egypt has long been a cost-competitive destination for offshore services, such as business process outsourcing (BPO), but a spate of new agreements with a number of large investors has given the ICT sector a further boost, with thousands of potential new jobs in the offing.

A series of moves by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to devalue the pound and limit dollar activity are expected to help shore up foreign reserves and eliminate black-market currency trading.

Garnering more investment, loans and assistance packages than had been widely expected, Egypt’s Economic Development Conference (EEDC) secured investment contracts worth $36.2bn, an additional $18.6bn in infrastructure contracts to set up power plants, and $5.2bn in loans from international financial institutions.

Construction is soon to begin on the first phase of a long-awaited government plan in Egypt to develop one million new homes, adding to a building boom and infrastructure projects already under way across the country to spur economic growth.

 With investor confidence growing, Egypt is looking forward to a sizeable boost to its economic performance in 2015.