Oxford Business Group (OBG) has announced that it has mapped out Egypt’s efforts to use the country’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector as a springboard for its digital transformation drive.

The findings were announced in a report that was issued on Monday for OBG’s subscribers as part of the group's new COVID-19 recovery roadmap.

The roadmap is a research work that tracks the economic efforts made by countries worldwide to recover from the pandemic.

The roadmap charted Egypt’s ICT industry’s robust performance during 2020, as digital solutions played a key role in meeting a surge in pandemic-induced demand for telecoms services as business and social interactions moved online.

Moreover, the report provides in-depth analysis of Egypt’s response to the pandemic and vision for longer-term, sustainable growth in an easy-to-navigate and accessible format, focusing on key data and infographics relating to the socio-economic landscape.

OBG’s roadmap highlighted Egypt’s plans to prioritise digital inclusion through establishing several new technology parks outside of the capital, adding that these facilities are expected to play a role in supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in Egypt by providing training facilities, hardware design labs, incubators and shared workspace.

The report also includes an in-depth interview with Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, in which he shares his views on a range of topical issues, including the country’s plans to harness intelligent technologies to boost economic competitiveness.

“Egypt is spearheading initiatives to leverage the application of advanced digital technologies to better serve citizens, increase productivity and support the economy. We aim to deploy technologies such as artificial intelligence, data science and the internet of things to address pressing challenges in fields like urban planning, health care and medicine, agriculture and irrigation, water management, education and resource optimisation,” Talaat told OBG.

The report also highlighted the investment opportunities Egypt has, as the country looks to roll out the upgrades needed to provide new ICT products and services, led by 5G technology.

Karine Loehman, OBG’s Managing Director for Africa, said that Egypt’s earlier moves to prioritise ICT development had not only proved beneficial for the country when the pandemic emerged, but would also provide it with strong foundations as it supports the transition to a knowledge-led economy.

“Heightened demand in Egypt for ICT services at the beginning of the health crisis highlighted the need to further expand both infrastructure and capacity," Loehman explained.

Loehman referred to the IMF reports that Egypt's national economy had already expanded steadily in recent years following extensive reforms, with GDP up by 5.6 percent in 2019, and argued that OBG now expects several established trends, such as remote work, digital payments and e-commerce to continue in the years ahead, "providing attractive opportunities for investors who are keen to participate in the next chapter of Egypt’s growth story."