IDSC: Egypt Retains North Africa's Top Entrepreneurship Ranking for 5th Year

Egypt climbed five places in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Entrepreneurship Index for 2025/2026, ranking 35th among 53 economies, while retaining its position as North Africa's leading entrepreneurship ecosystem for the fifth consecutive year, according to a government report released on Monday.

The report, published by the Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) as part of its "Egypt in International Indicators" series, said the improvement from 40th place in the previous edition reflected gradual progress in financing, infrastructure and cultural support for entrepreneurship.

The report also highlighted gains in Egypt's startup ecosystem, with the country rising 16 places over the past six years to rank 65th globally among 118 countries in the 2026 Global Startup Ecosystem Index.

Cairo remains the country's startup hub, hosting around 90% of Egypt's estimated 632 startups. The capital is also home to a startup valued at more than $1 billion and has maintained its position as the leading entrepreneurship ecosystem in North Africa since 2021, the report said.

The IDSC attributed Egypt's performance to its large domestic market of more than 110 million people, a growing pool of skilled graduates, improved digital infrastructure and government-backed financing programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

It noted that nearly 47% of Egyptians not currently engaged in entrepreneurial activity said they intend to start a business within the next three years, indicating strong entrepreneurial ambitions.

The report said Egypt's startup ecosystem has become increasingly attractive to investors, particularly in financial technology and transport, supported by growing investment activity and wider adoption of digital financial services.

The government has introduced a series of measures to strengthen the business environment, including the 2020 SME Development Law, lending requirements obliging banks to allocate at least 25% of their credit portfolios to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and procurement rules reserving at least 40% of government contracts for SMEs.

The report also highlighted initiatives supporting women entrepreneurs, technology incubators and digital skills programmes, including the "Creativa" innovation centres and the Digital Egypt Pioneers initiative.

In 2024, Egypt established a ministerial group dedicated to entrepreneurship to coordinate policies supporting startups, expand their access to international markets and promote innovation-led economic growth.