Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) hosted the “The Future of Work in Egypt” forum on Monday, focused on supporting Egypt’s future workforce.

In collaboration with global online learning platform, Udacity, and freelance marketplace website, Freelancer, the forum is the first of its kind in Egypt; it aims to introduce and share new business frameworks, models and opportunities relevant to a continuously digital-dependent world.

With the pandemic accelerating digital-first initiatives and work models, the event featured important discussions on how to adopt new business models, training a new workforce generation, freelancing and the freelance market, and future work challenges and solutions.

“The Future of Work in Egypt” event featured local and global industry experts, from IBM, Deloitte, Kuwait Food Company (Americana) and Freelancer.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has confirmed the importance of digitization and shifting the way both companies and employers work” ITIDA’s CEO, Amr Mahfouz said in his opening remarks.

He added that they “fully acknowledge the importance of going all-digital, and we have been more than ready with our plans in place, including offering many initiatives dedicated to support the mission of digitizing Egypt”.

ITIDA has been at the forefront of a large number of initiatives and programs involving nurturing innovation, building digital skills and capabilities, and further developing the flourishing startup scene in Egypt. These are all in pursuit to ensure that Egyptian Enterprises have the skills and agility required to thrive in the new digital age.

Mahfouz went on to mention the growth of freelancing as a normal or accepted method of working, especially during the pandemic. Freelancing, he noted, has provided unparalleled opportunities to skills and talents at a competitive cost, efficiently serving technical and business demands.

The forum included a panel discussion, moderated by Freelancer, where local and global industry experts spoke on their experiences with freelancers and freelance marketplaces, its challenges and solutions, and the value that freelancers have brough to their companies.

The new Talent Alpha program, which aims to provide local companies with new business strategies that engage a flexible workforce, was launched during the event. ​The Talent Alpha Sponsorship Program allocates USD500 to eligible companies, ​ who ​will additionally receive tailored support from Freelancer.com to help define their enterprise’s technical needs and hire freelancers accordingly

Supported by the ICT sector, which received $1.6 billion in investments in the last three years, their work in developing the country’s infrastructure during the COIVD-19 pandemic, and the power and energy sectors, Egypt is one of the few countries that is expected to achieve positive economic growth this year.