The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said the pilot platform, named “BelMasry,” was developed by its Applied Innovation Center (AIC) as Egypt’s first sovereign AI platform of its kind.
BelMasry combines three specialized engines for speech-to-text transcription, machine translation, and text-to-speech conversion.
Its speech-to-text engine converts spoken Egyptian Arabic, including its different dialects, and Modern Standard Arabic into written text. It can distinguish between speakers in multi-party recordings and reduce background noise to improve transcription accuracy.
The translation engine supports exchanges between Arabic, both colloquial and standard, and 50 foreign languages. It is designed for uses ranging from translating news reports and articles to facilitating communication for expatriates and researchers.
Meanwhile, the text-to-speech engine converts written Arabic into speech designed to reproduce natural pronunciation. Potential applications include virtual assistants, AI interfaces, digital education, media production and voice-enabled government services.
According to the ministry, BelMasry was built from the ground up using specialized Egyptian and Arabic linguistic datasets, enabling its engines to recognize local expressions, cultural references and emotional nuances that global AI systems may struggle to interpret accurately.
The ministry said such limitations have created a digital communication gap that prevents millions of Egyptians from fully accessing services suited to the language they use in everyday life.
Developed by Egyptian experts under the ministry’s supervision, the platform is intended to safeguard national data sovereignty while advancing digital inclusion and Egypt’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
BelMasry is available free of charge to individuals, institutions, and developers through belmasry.aic.gov.eg.
The AIC is affiliated with the communications ministry and develops emerging-technology solutions that address national and societal challenges and support Egypt’s digital transformation.
BelMasry was previewed in February at the AI Everything Middle East and Africa Summit in Cairo, where Communications Minister Raafat Hindy described it as a national system capable of understanding Egyptian colloquial Arabic and performing speech-to-text, translation, and text-to-speech functions. The current announcement marks its public pilot launch through a dedicated free platform.
The launch is part of a broader portfolio developed by the Applied Innovation Center, established in 2019 to create AI-based solutions that address national challenges. In July, Hindy said the centre had also developed the Karnak large language model and applications for healthcare, agriculture and education.
Egypt launched the second edition of its National AI Strategy for 2025–2030 in early 2025.
The plan comprises six pillars and 21 initiatives covering governance, technology, data, infrastructure, the innovation ecosystem and skills.
Its priorities include developing national AI models, producing high-quality Arabic-language datasets and expanding national data-centre and cloud-computing capacity.
Under the strategy, Egypt aims to train 30,000 AI specialists and raise artificial intelligence’s contribution to GDP to 7.7 percent by 2030.
The country ranked first in Africa and 51st globally among 195 countries in Oxford Insights’ 2025 Government AI Readiness Index, climbing 14 places from the previous year.
Short link: