Egypt drives $12B tech push with AI, data centers, and infrastructure overhaul

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met on Saturday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hendi, and key military signals leadership to map out the nation’s digital transformation agenda.

Moving beyond administrative updates, Cairo is positioning itself as a regional tech hub by prioritizing massive cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI), and strict child online safety mandates.

Strategic goals

Surging digital exports

Egypt is targeting eight billion dollars in digital exports by 2028, with outsourcing services projected to hit US $12 billion by 2029.

Additionally, the state aims to grow its electronics design footprint to 120 companies by 2030.

Infrastructure and AI acceleration

Sisi ordered officials to ramp up investment in hyper-scale data centers, cloud computing, and nationwide 5G network deployment.

The government is also advancing “Karnak,” its national AI program designed to ensure digital sovereignty and build generative AI models in Arabic.

Unified smart government services

The state is expanding the Unified Government Services Card, coordinating with the Ministry of Supply to unify databases and streamline citizen access to public services.

Enforcing child digital protections

Minister Hendi reviewed implementation steps for the joint NTRA-SCMR decree issued on September 17, which bans social media accounts for children under 13 and locks mandatory “Safe Mode” settings for users aged 13 to 15.

Transparent talent development

Reviewing the “Digilians” presidential initiative—run jointly with the Egyptian Military Academy— Sisi ordered strict neutrality, transparency, and accuracy in candidate selection to ensure youth are effectively upskilled for high-demand tech jobs.