Egypt Targets $8bn Outsourcing Exports as ICT Sector Records 24.3% Growth

Egypt outlined an ambitious push to expand its technology services exports to $8 billion by 2028 as its information and communications technology (ICT) sector posted a record 24.3% growth in the fourth quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year. The targets and recent achievements were highlighted by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hindi at the sixth edition of the Tech Invest Egypt conference in Cairo on September 7, 2026.

"The government views entrepreneurship as a key pillar for building an innovation-driven digital economy," Hindi said, stressing the ministry's role in helping startups address financing, growth, market access and talent retention challenges.

Conference focus and government measures

The Tech Invest Egypt event, organised by the General Division for Digital Economy and Technology at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce in strategic partnership with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), convened government officials, technology firms, investors, entrepreneurs, startups and academia under the theme "Empowering Competencies, Developing Investments."

Hindi outlined a multi-pronged digital economy strategy aimed at accelerating digital transformation, localising technology, developing digital skills, strengthening infrastructure, improving sector governance and maintaining digital sovereignty. He pointed to Egypt Digital Innovation Hubs — present in more than 20 governorates — as a central mechanism to support entrepreneurs through skills development, incubation, technical and legal consulting, marketing assistance and investor connections.

• Outsourcing exports reached $5.1 billion by the end of 2025, with the government aiming for $8 billion by 2028 through expanded outsourcing, local electronics manufacturing and increased domestic value addition.
• The ICT sector delivered a 24.3% growth rate in Q4 of the 2025/2026 financial year, described by the ministry as its highest on record.
• The ministry is developing infrastructure to allow innovative companies to securely integrate with government systems, opening opportunities for GovTech firms to improve public services.

Artificial intelligence featured prominently in Hindi's address. He said the priority is to move beyond theoretical discussions toward the "safe and responsible deployment of AI applications" across government and the private sector. He cited domestic work on language processing, speech-to-text, translation and healthcare, and referenced recent experimental launches of an Egyptian large language model named "Karnak" alongside the "Loghat" and "Belmasry" applications.

To accelerate local AI development, the ministry plans to make advanced computing resources available to researchers and developers so they can produce commercialisable intellectual property. Hindi also announced an upcoming competition inviting entrepreneurs and startups to develop AI-powered solutions with developmental impact; winning projects will be piloted inside a government ministry with potential expansion across other entities.

Outlook

The combination of record ICT growth, a clear export target and targeted support for startups and AI projects signals a deliberate push to scale Egypt's digital economy. With $5.1 billion in outsourcing exports already achieved and programmes such as nationwide innovation hubs and GovTech integration under way, the government aims to translate the sector’s momentum into export growth, greater domestic value addition and internationally competitive products by 2028.