Egypt’s government is moving to create a unified national strategy for data centers and cloud computing, following directives from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. The initiative brings together the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Investment to streamline site selection, renewable energy supply, and investment procedures designed to attract global cloud providers.
Quick Facts
- Three key ministries are collaborating on the strategy.
- A national data center investment map is planned.
- A $400M private sector project was recently licensed.
A Unified Push for Digital Sovereignty
In a high-level meeting at the Ministry of Electricity’s New Capital headquarters, ministers coordinated a plan to build out Egypt’s sovereign compute capacity. The strategy aims to leverage the country’s unique advantages, including its extensive submarine cable network and geographic position, which offer low-latency connectivity.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hendy framed the push as a core pillar of digital sovereignty, not just an investment opportunity. The plan will also be supported by Egypt’s Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy, which targets 45% renewable energy in the national mix within the next two years, a critical factor for meeting the intense power demands of modern data centers.
Mapping Out Egypt’s Data Center Future
A central component of the new strategy is the creation of a national investment map. This detailed guide will outline proposed data center sites, complete with information on available utilities, power supply, regulatory requirements, and indicative costs. It will also provide direct contact points within responsible government authorities to simplify the process for global investors.
Ministers agreed to form a joint working group to finalize the map and the broader strategy. Once reviewed by technical experts, the map will be published on the website of Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) and actively promoted abroad through the country’s commercial representative offices.
Powering Egypt’s $42 Billion AI Ambition
This government-led push aligns with increasing private sector activity and the country’s larger economic goals. The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has already issued ten data center licenses over the past two years.
The most recent license was granted to a joint venture between Hassan Allam Holding and venture capital firm A15 for a $400 million data center project. This infrastructure build-out is fundamental to Egypt’s national AI strategy, which aims to generate $42.7 billion in AI-related economic value and grow the technology sector to 7.7% of GDP by 2030.
The Hyperscaler Challenge
Despite recent progress, Egypt’s National AI Strategy for 2025-2030 acknowledges a significant obstacle: the absence of a major hyperscaler presence from providers like AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure. Current data locality rules prevent Egyptian organizations from shifting workloads to data centers abroad.
Without local hyperscaler infrastructure, Egyptian companies and government entities cannot fully access the constantly updated AI and machine learning services these platforms offer. This forces them into a difficult choice: either build these complex tools from scratch or invest in expensive on-premise deployments that can quickly become outdated. The new national strategy is a clear attempt to address this gap and attract the global tech giants needed to accelerate its AI adoption.
About the National Strategy for Data Centres and Cloud Computing
The National Strategy for Data Centres and Cloud Computing is a coordinated Egyptian government initiative to attract investment and build out the country’s digital infrastructure. It integrates policies across the electricity, ICT, and investment ministries to create a favorable environment for global cloud providers and support Egypt’s goals of becoming a regional AI hub.
Source: middleeastainews
