The Egyptian economy has recently witnessed a digital transformation across all sectors of the economy, sectors that have begun to undergo this transformation have varied from emerging Fintech platforms to healthcare, education, transportation and even governmental services.
Examples of this transformation have notably been: in Fintech digital platforms offering a range of services from e-payments to lending, in healthcare online pharmacies, in education online private tutoring, in transportation ride sharing and in governmental services renewal of car licenses and the payment of dues and fines, filing claims through digital platforms (Court System), and easing the process of obtaining different operational licenses, the list goes on.
In the bid to transform many new laws have been issued, for example the Data Privacy Protection Law, the Law for Combat of Information Technology Crimes and the new Banking Law in addition to others.
In short Egypt has been witnessing a recent move towards digitalization, assisted by investment in telecommunication infrastructure, the proliferation of smart technology and accessibility thereto, this allowed large portions of the population access to the internet allowing them easy access to online platforms, part of the speed of this transformation -in my opinion- has been the effects of Covid and lockdowns on people who need to work or secure varying services.
The proliferation of smart technology and accessibility in Egypt coupled with the population boom especially in the younger generation (as over half the population of Egypt is under 40 years of age as per Governmental statistics), has created a market place wherein investors whether foreign or local, can see an opportunity for growth in a market that is still maturing and growing.
Evidence of such growth has been highlighted by The Central Bank of Egypt which stated that “a sum of almost $250 Million has been injected in Egyptian FinTech and FinTech-enabled startups in the last 5 years, from barely $0.9 Million in 2017 to $159 Million in 2021.”
It is therefore evident that although the process of digitalization is still in its infancy, the potential for growth due to said digitalization can be seen wide and far in the Egyptian market, giving way to various potential investment opportunities in the coming years.
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