In a speech during the virtual edition of the IDC Egypt CIO Summit 2021 held Monday, Mahfouz noted that Egypt’s technology entrepreneurship scene showed great resilience amid the global challenges introduced by COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic was “was a great opportunity and a major catalyst for digital transformation and tech-adoption in Egypt specifically, and the MENA region generally,” said Egypt's Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) CEO Amr Mahfouz.
Digital transformation continues to be a hot topic in Egypt, particularly with the government’s Digital Egypt strategy, as the pandemic continues.
In a speech during the virtual edition of the IDC Egypt CIO Summit 2021 held Monday, Mahfouz noted that Egypt’s technology entrepreneurship scene showed great resilience amid the global challenges introduced by COVID-19.
He explained that ITIDA IS working on a five-year strategy for both the technology Innovation and entrepreneurship sector as well as the outsourcing sector.
“This strategy is geared towards positioning Egypt as an ideal global destination for high tech innovation and to better tap Egypt’s potentials in the outsourcing industry,” he concluded.
Discussing the new E-signature licenses, Mahfouz stressed on the agency’s efforts to fortify the framework of the E-signature, as one of the areas of focus and growth.
“ITIDA has availed New E-signature Licenses to accelerate Digital Transformation in Egypt,” he said, adding that the awarded companies will start soon providing e-signature certificates, e-seal, and time stamp services for both individuals, and businesses.
He further highlighted the usage of E-signature in governmental installations, saying that it is being used by the Ministry of Finance’s E-invoice system, as well as in the digital Egypt platform that automates government services.
This shift comes as a part of Egypt’s vision 2030 for Digital Transformation and improving governmental services.
“Another exciting progress is the new Egyptian customs automation project, The Advanced Cargo Information system (ACI), introduced by the Egyptian Customs Authority, which aims to simplify and to speed up the procedures for releasing goods which comes powered by e- signature,” he added.
On another front, to help the local software development companies follow the latest digital transformation global trends, ITIDA has recently launched Digital Transformation 4 Software Development Companies (DX4SW) initiative, which supports enterprise agility in the local IT sector.
“We are also excited about the all-time high venture investment growth that the Egyptian startups have recorded, amounting to $190 million through 114 deals in 2020 compared to $146 million in 2019, according to a report by MAGNiTT in collaboration with ITIDA,” Mahfouz said.
Every fifth deal in MENA was registered in Egypt, according to MAGNiTT, securing the country a strong position in the region’s VC ecosystem.
With the rapid emergence of innovative entrepreneurship, MCIT’s efforts have extended to establish a fully integrated ecosystem for the electronics industry through establishing the Knowledge City Innovation Hub.
According to Mahfouz, the hub is embracing emerging technologies labs like IoT/Robotics, VR, AR, AI, and a clean room and an incubator for tech and e-design startups.
“This summit is indicative of the importance and the value ITIDA and IDC both place on building the bridges between IDC’s senior analysts and the IT experts through providing a unique and unrivaled platform for Egypt’s high-level ICT executives,” he added.
Under the theme “innovative Digital Strategies: Evolving to the Demands of a New Reality,” the virtual event brought together senior business leaders, influential IT heads, and respected industry analysts to share their collective expertise on how best to meet the unique challenges of these unprecedented times.
