Egypt is transitioning from viewing artificial intelligence as a future goal to treating it as core national infrastructure, reshaping its economic strategy, policy-making, and capital allocation. This strategic shift is positioning Cairo as a pivotal center for AI collaboration and investment across Africa and the Middle East.
Solidifying this ambition is the launch of Ai Everything MEA Egypt, a new platform designed to convene governments, global technology leaders, investors, and startups. The event, organised by GITEX GLOBAL and hosted by Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in partnership with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), is scheduled for early 2026.
Harnessing A Growing Talent Pool
Egypt’s established role as a leading global outsourcing destination is being leveraged for a new era of AI-driven services. The country produces over 750,000 university graduates annually, a significant portion of whom are in engineering and ICT fields. This talent pool is increasingly being directed towards AI-enabled services, cloud operations, and applied research.
According to the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index, Egypt already ranks first in Africa for AI readiness. This position is bolstered by mature policy frameworks and sustained investment in developing skilled professionals.
National Strategy and Economic Ambition
The country’s focus on AI is aligned with significant economic forecasts. Fitch Solutions predicts that Egypt’s ICT market will exceed $9 billion by 2030, driven by the expansion of cloud, cybersecurity, and data services. This aligns with Egypt’s Second National AI Strategy (2025-2030), which prioritizes access to compute power, the development of local AI models, and robust data governance.
These national initiatives are set against a continental backdrop where the United Nations Development Program estimates that AI could contribute $1.5 trillion to Africa’s GDP by 2030, underscoring the high stakes of Egypt’s strategic technology decisions.
Sovereignty and Infrastructure at the Forefront
As generative AI models become more resource-intensive, digital sovereignty has emerged as a key theme in Egypt’s strategy. Policymakers are focusing on where data is stored, how models are trained, and who controls access, leading to significant investment in sovereign cloud, regional data centers, and energy-efficient compute infrastructure.
Egypt’s strategic location, energy capacity, and connectivity make it an ideal hub for serving Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Europe, attracting global infrastructure and AI players seeking local partnerships.
A Pragmatic Focus on Applied AI
Egypt’s AI agenda prioritizes practical, applied intelligence over consumer-facing tools. Key sectors of focus include financial services, digital health, manufacturing, logistics, and public administration, where technologies like predictive analytics and computer vision can deliver measurable productivity gains.
Local startups are central to this strategy, developing solutions like Arabic language models and enterprise automation platforms. With Arabic still underrepresented in global AI systems, there is a significant market opportunity to develop culturally relevant and compliant AI applications. This pragmatic approach is also reflected in investor interest, with venture capital targeting companies that address scalable, system-level needs.
About Ai Everything MEA Egypt
Ai Everything MEA Egypt is a summit scheduled for February 11-12, 2026, in Cairo. The event aims to connect global expertise with national priorities by bringing together policymakers, hyperscalers, investors, and innovators. It will feature leaders from organizations such as The World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Cerebras, and HCL Tech, alongside Fortune 500 companies including AWS, Capgemini, and Microsoft.
Source: Fast Company Middle East
