Egypt Ranks First in Startup Investment Deals Across MENA

Egypt was ranked first in terms of the number of startup investment deals in the Middles East and North Africa (MENA), scoring 40 deals in the first quarter of 2020, The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat indicated.

This came during the minister's speech in the webinar organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham), titled “Digital Egypt: Unleashing the Power.”

The webinar was moderated by AmCham President Sherif Kamel, in the presence of the United States Ambassador to Egypt Jonathan Cohen and AmCham CEO Sylvia Menassa and 450 representatives of the U.S.-Egypt Business Council (USEBC) in Washington, Egypt-US Business Council (EUSBC), the Middle East Council of American Chambers of Commerce (MECACC), major multinational companies and companies operating in the Egyptian ICT sector.

In his talk, Talaat stated that 150 digital government services were launched in Port Said, within the framework of the building Digital Egypt strategy, with four new sets of services to launch in July, nationwide, including 36 digital government services.

The services will be rendered through five different outlets: mobile application, e-portal, service centers, call centers and Egypt Post.

A number of 5,300 government buildings have been connected through a fiber-optic cable network, within the framework of the State’s plan for connecting the 32,000 government buildings nationwide within this network, in 36 months, with a total cost of EGP six billion.

Deals with USD 107 million were also made in the first half of 2020, compared to 142 deals with USD 95 million, in 2019, and 113 deals with USD 84 million, in 2018, he added.

Investments with USD 1.6 billion were infused, confirmed the ICT Minister, over the past two years to develop the ICT infrastructure, leading to boosting Internet speed to 30.9 Mbps, in March 2020, compared to 6.5 Mbps, in January 2019, according to Ookla’s Speed test. This helped meet the increased Internet usage amid the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, where home Internet usage upped by 99% and mobile internet, by 35%. The lockdown also led to a 15 hour surge in internet traffic and a 19% increase in international calls.

Talaat referred to the underway major digital transformation projects, including the universal health insurance automation project, implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Health; the law enforcement system automation “Digital Egypt Justice,” in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice; and transforming education “Digital Universities,” including conducting digital exams for medical students, in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Moreover, the ICT Minister said that the ministry targets training 95,000 people, within its plan for building skillful Egyptian cadres.

Furthermore, the Applied Innovation Center (AIC) was established, said Talaat, through which partnerships shall be forged with major international companies specializing in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Six technology innovation hubs were also established in regional universities. The first phase of the Knowledge City is also under construction, in the New Administrative Capital.

Talaat presented MCIT efforts in developing and improving the telecommunication system. This included establishing the National Center for ICT Services Quality Control and Monitoring. The center provides monthly Quality of Service (QoS) Benchmark Reports, shedding light on the quality of voice and internet services provided by the four telecommunication operators in Egypt.

In addition, the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service, enabling mobile telephone subscribers to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network to another.

The ICT Minister also referred to Egypt’s potentials that qualify it to have a robust data center industry, as well as MCIT efforts for developing such industry. He said that all NTRA services will be provided digitally by the end of 2020.