Egypt saw a sharp rise in new business formation in the first half of 2026, even as the capital flowing into newly established companies declined.
According to the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade’s latest Investment Trends in Egypt report, 26,525 new companies were established between January and June, up 19.9% from 22,131 in the same period of 2025. However, total capital inflows fell 28.2% year-on-year to $2.6 billion, from $3.6 billion.
The figures reveal a diverging investment landscape, with services leading new company formation, construction attracting the largest share of capital and several major sectors recording sharp declines in investment.
Services dominated
Services dominated new business formation, accounting for 16,597 companies, or 62.6% of the total. The number of new companies in the sector increased 28.2% year on year.
Construction followed with 3,279 new companies, representing 12.4% of the total, while industry accounted for 3,057 companies, or 11.5%.
ICT recorded 1,929 new companies, up 19.6% year on year, followed by agriculture with 852 and tourism with 790.
Finance accounted for the fewest new companies, with just 21 establishments, while new company formation in the sector fell 30% from a year earlier.
$2.6B in capital inflows
While the number of new companies increased, capital inflows declined by around $1 billion compared with the first half of 2025.
Construction attracted the largest share of capital, receiving $812.17 million, or 31.8% of total inflows. However, investment in the sector fell 25.9% year on year.
Services ranked second, attracting $781.6 million, or 30.6% of total capital inflows. Unlike construction, services recorded strong growth, with investment rising 45.8%, the largest increase among the major sectors.
Industry received $357.1 million, representing 13.9% of total capital inflows, while finance attracted $301.78 million, or 11.8%.
Agriculture accounted for $163.6 million, followed by tourism at $102.8 million. ICT received the smallest share among the sectors, with $36.1 million, or 1.4% of the total.
Services gains, industry falls
The sharpest contrast in the data came from services and industry.
Services recorded growth in both new company formation and capital inflows, with the number of new companies rising 28.2% and investment increasing 45.9%.
Tourism also posted gains on both measures. New companies increased 11.6%, while capital inflows rose 16.6% to $102.8 million.
Finance saw capital inflows increase 17.1%, despite a 30% decline in the number of newly established companies.
Industry, meanwhile, recorded one of the weakest performances. New company formation declined 3.1%, while capital inflows dropped 69.8%, the steepest decline among the major sectors.
Agricultural investment fell 52.2%, while ICT capital inflows declined 30.7%. Investment in construction also fell despite the sector receiving the largest share of total capital.
413,191 companies
By June 30, 2026, Egypt had a cumulative total of 413,191 companies, with total capital flows reaching $299.8 billion.
Industry held the largest cumulative share of capital at 28.9%, followed by services at 19% and construction at 17%.
Finance accounted for 14.5% of cumulative capital, followed by tourism at 10.9%, agriculture at 5.1% and ICT at 4.6%.
The bottom line
Egypt’s first-half investment data show an expanding business base but weaker capital mobilization. New company formation rose nearly 20%, driven primarily by services, while total capital inflows fell more than 28%.
The decline was largely driven by lower investment in industry, agriculture, ICT and construction, while services, finance and tourism recorded growth in capital inflows.
