Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, has inaugurated the Deloitte Innovation Hub with a substantial investment of $30 million over the next three years. This marks Deloitte’s first center dedicated to exporting innovative digital services from Egypt. As a global leader in audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and related services, Deloitte aims to broaden its digital footprint through this new hub.
The Deloitte Innovation Hub is set to offer a wide array of services to clients across Europe and the region. These services include Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis, Marketing & Commerce, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, and Enterprise Resource Planning. The hub’s ambitious expansion plans target a workforce of 5,000 employees in the coming years, thereby diversifying Deloitte’s service offerings and amplifying its impact across various business sectors.
Hani Girgis, the leader of the Deloitte Innovation Hub, emphasized that the hub will play a crucial role in developing local talent, positively impacting Egyptian society, and delivering significant value to clients across Europe and the Middle East.
Minister Talaat underscored the global confidence in Egypt as a premier destination for IT services and digital innovation. He highlighted the country’s pool of skilled young talent in digital technologies, which continues to attract foreign investment. Talaat reiterated the government’s commitment to creating high-value jobs for the youth, expanding digital exports, and building a knowledge-based economy. He noted that Egypt’s digital exports reached $6.2 billion in 2023.
In July 2024, Minister Talaat announced a remarkable 26% surge in Egypt’s digital exports, which climbed to $6.2 billion in 2023 from $4.9 billion in 2022. He emphasized various government initiatives aimed at increasing ICT employment, promoting human development, establishing a knowledge-based economy, and enhancing performance across multiple sectors.
Talaat also mentioned plans to expand youth training programs to support independent careers in outsourcing and freelancing. The goal is to reach 130,000 outsourcing professionals and $3.7 billion in digital exports by 2024, and 550,000 professionals and $9 billion in exports by 2026.
Ahmed El Zaher, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), projected that Egypt’s ICT sector would grow by 15.2% in the fiscal year 2022/2023, contributing 5.1% to the country’s GDP, up from 4.4% in the fiscal year 2019/2020. He emphasized that the new hub would further bolster the digital economy by fostering innovation and advanced technological solutions to meet global market demands, thereby increasing IT service exports.
Recently, global tech companies have made significant strides in Egypt. In May 2024, Telecom Egypt and Huawei Cloud announced plans to launch Huawei’s first locally-based public cloud platform in Egypt and Northern Africa, aligning with the country’s digital transformation strategy. This partnership positions Egypt as a regional digital hub, promoting the development of cloud computing and digital services.
