Egypt is investing billions in 5G and AI infrastructure, but will it become a true technology producer or remain a consumer? Joining us is Dr. Islam Tharwat Abdel Halim, Regional Coordinator for the IEEE Computer Society, whose work spans artificial intelligence, 5G networks, edge computing, and cybersecurity, and who has argued publicly that Egypt must stop consuming technology and start producing it. Dr. Islam, welcome to the show.
Thank you, my pleasure to be with you.
You've made the case that Egypt must move from technology consumer to technology producer. With 5G spectrum now in operators' hands, where can Egyptian companies realistically build competitive AI products without the enormous capital required to develop frontier models from scratch?
Egypt can absolutely do that — but let me be precise about where. Egypt cannot compete directly with companies like Google or OpenAI in developing frontier AI models. Building those requires tens of billions of dollars. Instead, Egypt should focus on becoming a producer of AI-powered solutions. We can learn from India's experience in the 1980s and 1990s. India didn't compete with computer manufacturers or semiconductor leaders. They didn't make enormous bets on hardware. Instead, they invested heavily in engineering education and software development, and were able to lead global software markets through companies like Infosys, Wipro, and TCS — generating over $200 billion annually in exports. Many of the top leaders at global technology companies are now Indian. That is the model Egypt should follow.
Operators are committing tens of billions of pounds in CapEx in Egypt, yet regulators' own quality reports still show weak service in parts of the network. What should investors watch over the next year to know whether this money is producing real improvement?
Investors need to watch not just network performance metrics — speed, latency, and reliability — but also how Egypt is securing its infrastructure investment. Egypt is now one of the most geographically secure locations in the region given current geopolitical dynamics, and that matters enormously for digital infrastructure. Egypt has launched 5G spectrum and last year published the second version of its national AI strategy, focused on infrastructure, data centres, and computing power. The focus is on securing investment first and then capitalising on it.
Bring this to banking and payments specifically. When 5G, AI, and edge computing work together, what becomes possible that isn't practical on today's infrastructure?
The financial sector in Egypt is actually the most mature sector we have — we've invested heavily in digital transformation through the Central Bank of Egypt and all the regulatory frameworks covering banking, fintech, and instant payments. Egypt's financial sector is ready and will be one of the greatest beneficiaries of this technology convergence. The use cases are significant: fraud detection, anti-money laundering systems, real-time credit assessment, personalised financial services, and intelligent payment processing. The sector is ready to adopt these solutions.
Is there a risk that Egypt is over-indexing on visible investments — data centres, towers, spectrum — while under-investing in invisible ones like clean data, interoperable systems, and specialised talent? Which gap worries you most?
Yes, that gap exists and it's one of the most important strategic questions. Visible infrastructure is essential but it's the invisible infrastructure that will ultimately determine whether digital transformation succeeds or not. Egypt's national AI strategy is actually strong on this point — its six pillars cover governance, technology, data, infrastructure, ecosystem, and skills. They recognise that AI depends on an entire innovation ecosystem. If I had to identify the single most critical gap, it would be data quality. AI learns from data — data must be consistent, complete, and well-structured. That is why I focus on the financial sector, because decades of investment through the Central Bank and regulatory frameworks have built strong data foundations there.
Digital sovereignty is moving up the agenda. Which layers of the technology stack must remain under local control for Egyptian banks and government financial platforms, and where can international providers safely play a role?
Digital sovereignty should not be confused with technological isolation. It means maintaining national control over critical digital assets while continuing to benefit from international innovation — and Egypt has done this before successfully. I believe there are three layers that must remain under national control: sensitive citizen and financial data including digital identity, payment records, and taxation data; critical infrastructure including payment switches and digital payment hubs; and the AI model training process, because training on highly sensitive national datasets requires local governance. A hybrid model makes sense — sensitive workloads remain under Egyptian governance, while international cloud providers can support innovation and scalability for non-sensitive services.
Dr. Islam Tharwat Abdel Halim, thank you very much for joining us today.
Thank you so much, my pleasure.
