Cairo: Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hindy announced that Egypt's ICT sector experienced a record growth of 24.3% in the fourth quarter of the 2025/2026 fiscal year, marking its highest growth rate to date.

According to State Information Service Egypt, outsourcing exports reached $5.1 billion by the end of 2025, with the ministry setting a target of $8 billion by 2028. The ministry is focusing on localizing electronics manufacturing, increasing local added value, and expanding the outsourcing industry.

Speaking at the sixth Tech Invest Egypt conference, Hindy highlighted entrepreneurship as a critical factor in driving an innovation-based digital economy. The government is actively working to overcome challenges faced by startups, such as financing, growth, market access, and talent attraction and retention.

Hindy outlined the ministry's priorities, which include accelerating digital transformation, localizing technology, developing digital skills and infrastructure, improving governance in the sector, supporting investment and innovation, and maintaining digital sovereignty.

He also emphasized the role of Creativa Innovation Hubs, which operate in over 20 governorates, offering entrepreneurs support in skills development, incubation, technical, legal, and marketing advice, and connections with investors.

On artificial intelligence, Hindy noted the significant opportunities for Egyptian companies, highlighting expertise in language processing, speech-to-text, translation, and healthcare applications. The Egyptian large language model 'Karnak' and the applications 'Loghat' and 'Bel Masry' were launched on a pilot basis last month. The ministry is also advancing computing resources for researchers and developers and preparing a competition to foster AI innovation and enable startups to create solutions for government institutions.

The Tech Invest Egypt conference, organized by the Digital Economy and Technology General Division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, in strategic partnership with ITIDA, brings together government representatives, businesses, investors, entrepreneurs, and startups. The conference sessions focus on ICT investment, corporate AI strategies, startup financing and expansion, and personal data protection.