Local firms are ahead of the global average on digital trade readiness, Standard Chartered finds

Egyptian firms are outpacing the global average in key measures of digital trade readiness, Standard Chartered’s Future of Trade report finds, with local businesses reporting higher maturity in real-time cash visibility and automated payments and planning substantial near-term investment in digital supply-chain tools. The report highlights that 58% of Egyptian businesses report mature real-time cash visibility (versus 26% globally), 52% report mature automated payments and collections (versus 37% globally), and 96% say digital tools support a fast response to supply-chain disruptions — the third-highest share worldwide.

"Egyptian businesses expect digitalization to lower costs by at least 10% in processing trade documentation and data, along with identifying overseas partners," the report states, and it also notes that some 96% of these businesses anticipate similar savings on payments and settlements.

Why the gap matters

Those figures indicate that corporate Egypt is deepening its digital infrastructure ahead of a broader shift. The report projects that faster trade digitalization could unlock up to USD 2.8 trillion in additional global trade by 2031, underscoring the economic potential of the investments firms are targeting.

Looking ahead, Egyptian firms say they will channel capital over the next three to five years into digital supply-chain finance platforms and tools that improve real-time cash visibility — putting Egypt third globally in planned supply-chain finance investment. Half of surveyed firms also plan to invest in automated payments, and the same proportion intend to direct funds toward cybersecurity and risk management.

Broader market moves and local initiatives

Alongside corporates’ digitalisation plans, several notable domestic moves underline an active financial and fintech ecosystem. In capital markets, Saudi investor Nawaf bin Dayel increased his stake in EGX-listed Electro Cable Egypt (ECE) to roughly 5.24% from 3.44% after purchasing some 59.6 million shares at EGP 2.04 apiece in a trade worth EGP 121.58 million. The transaction followed a sale by Sumou Consultancy of 209.75 million shares — worth EGP 427.89 million at the same EGP 2.04 price — which cut Sumou’s stake to 14% from 20.33%.

The controlling bloc tied to Pioneers (rebranded as Aspire) that has held ECE is shrinking: the group’s combined stake fell to 51.72% from 58.05%, down from 69.37% as recently as July. Members of that group include Gadwa Industrial Development (25.3%), Al Hosn Consultancy, and Nomow Consultancy.

• Act Financial signed a Sharia-compliant ijara real estate financing agreement worth EGP 105 million with FRA-licensed Cairo Leasing Corporation.
• Cairo-based fintech infrastructure firm banknbox built and deployed the full technology stack for Maldives Premier Bank, the country’s first digital-led commercial bank.
• The Financial Regulatory Authority signed a cooperation protocol with Startup Egypt to build and develop a digital platform that maps local fintech startups, angel investors, VC funds, and other fintech players.

These developments — from targeted corporate investment plans to regulatory collaboration with Startup Egypt — suggest a coordinated move to strengthen Egypt’s digital trade and fintech infrastructure. If businesses follow through on planned investments in supply-chain finance, automated payments and cybersecurity, the country looks positioned to convert its comparatively high digital-trade maturity into measurable gains in efficiency and cross-border trade participation.