ICT & Innovation
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.
