Egypt’s school education investment potential has always been massive. A June 2024 UNICEF paper said the country’s “student age population” in 2025 was 32.5 million. If they were a country, it would be the sixth-largest among MENA’s 19 nations. Meeting the academic and vocational demands of such a large market has proved difficult. “The quality of education [in Egypt] remains a major challenge,” said UNICEF. “Many schools have poor infrastructure, with around one in five school buildings unfit for use … More than half of the students in Egypt do not even meet the low benchmark in international learning assessments.” …
Author: Tamer Hafez
For Egypt, transitioning from fossil fuels to clean, sustainable, renewable energy goes beyond protecting the environment or keeping up with investment trends. “Green energy is about energy security,” Ossama Bishay, Orascom Construction CEO, told AmCham Egypt’s April Investment Conference. “We don’t have fossil fuel self-sufficiency,” and continuing to import is unsustainable. “Our main energy source needs to be renewables,” stressed Beshay, noting that Egypt has the natural resources for that transition. “Our wind energy is generated from one of the most efficient locations (the Red Sea coast), and we have the clearest sun rays in the world in the south.” …
Despite a depreciating pound, double-digit inflation, and regional tensions, foreign investors continue to pour billions into mega greenfield projects in Egypt in response to the government’s accelerated plans to build new coastal cities. The latest investment was last year when the U.A.E. pumped $35 billion into the construction of Ras El-Hekma on the Mediterranean coast, igniting the push for more new destinations. At AmCham Egypt’s Investment Conference in April, government and private sector speakers from the real estate industry discussed the opportunities, challenges, and role of the private sector and Egyptian developers in building attractive new cities. Government plan According…
Since the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1978, Egypt and the United States have had a strategic economic and political partnership. “The United States and Egypt share a strong partnership based on mutual interests in Middle East peace and stability, economic opportunity and regional security,” the U.S. State Department said. “Significant cultural and educational ties and assistance further enhance the strategic partnership.” That has helped local exporters find opportunities in the world’s largest economy. According to CAPMAS, Egypt’s exports to the United States reached $2.25 billion last year, up 12.8% from 2023. That has made the world’s largest…
The march toward making Egypt’s economy cashless looks increasingly inevitable under the current administration. “A ‘digital czar’ is [always] at the center of the [digitization] framework. In the case of Egypt, it’s the president [Abdel Fattah el-Sisi],” Driss Temsamani, Citi’s managing director and platform data service head at LATAM and North America, told AmCham Egypt members in April. “You can’t get higher than that.” Such a transformation will invariably change aspects of local banks’ business models. “Banks have to become data companies that rely on data collection by scaling digital transactions,” said Temsamani. “That will allow them to build credit…
In the endless pursuit of making Egypt an investor-friendly destination, newly appointed Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk has prioritized tax reform. “We will succeed together in building an efficient and investment-incentive tax system,” he said during a tour of tax centers and offices in April. His focus is to “make it easy for our taxpayer partners and communicate with them directly, based on trust and support.” Kouchouk’s reform strategy revolves around introducing “packages of facilities.” The one introduced for the 2025 tax season includes penalty caps, legislation for SMEs and multiple new amnesty options. Local tax experts are cautious, as the…
Implementing economic structural reforms has been a priority for Egypt since the current administration took office in 2015. “The state continues its efforts to … achieve economic growth led by the private sector [by] implementing structural reforms that enhance the capabilities of the Egyptian economy and provide an attractive environment for local and international investments,” Rania Al-Mashat, minister of planning and economic development, told the media in April. The latest reform was in April, when Parliament approved a new labor law. It reflects the changing workplace, makes the new legislation more business-friendly and leaves most regulations unchanged to create continuity. …
To build a digital economy by 2030, the Egyptian government is betting on artificial intelligence (AI). In May 2021, the ICT Ministry launched the country’s first five-year National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, making it the first in the region to do so. This year, it published a new one through 2030. The second edition targets “integrating AI tools into education, enhancing professional development and fostering robust international partnerships,” the 2025-2030 strategy document said. It aims to create a $430 million to $860 million fund to support AI companies, stimulate venture capital funding, encourage Egypt-based businesses to use AI, and increase public…
In Africa, prioritizing fossil fuel excavation and production over green energy projects could be key to securing significant energy funding from the current U.S. administration. For the past five years, Africa has been a lucrative investment destination despite global economic crises. “Africa demonstrated remarkable resilience in attracting FDI, underscoring the continent’s adaptability amid an uncertain global economic climate,” a report from Ernst & Young (EY) published in December said. “The continent’s 2023 FDI doubled since [2021].” Last year, the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development noted Africa was the only region that saw FDI increase, recording an 84% surge over…
The American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham Egypt) launched on April 29 its highly anticipated investment conference titled “Towards Resilient Growth: Egypt’s Future as an Investment Hub”, setting the tone for a deep dive into Egypt’s evolving investment climate and the economic reforms shaping its future. The opening session, Egypt’s Investment Climate and Economic Outlook, brought together key government officials, private sector leaders, and investment experts to assess opportunities, address ongoing challenges, and spotlight Egypt’s recent reform efforts aimed at making the country a regional investment hub. Egypt’s reform roadmap and investor appeal Hossam Heiba, CEO of the General…