A total of 1,336 communications sector companies, worth a combined EGP 1.34bn, were established in fiscal year (FY) 2019/20, according to Sherif Makhlouf, head of the Egyptian Junior Business Association’s (EJB) communication committee.
According to the committee’s annual report for 2020, the number of mobile phone subscribers increased by 0.8% to 96 million in October 2020. This compared to the 95.25 million subscribers recorded at the end of October 2019.
Moreover, ADSL subscribers surged by 19.9% to 8.6 million in October 2020, compared to 7.17 million subscribers in the same month of 2019. Additionally, mobile broadband subscribers increased by 7.7%, registering 45.5 million subscribers in October 2020, compared to 42.25 million subscribers in October 2019.
The report highlighted that Egypt’s telecommunications sector saw the highest growth of all government sectors, reporting a growth rate of 15.2%, despite the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak.
Makhlouf said that the information and communications technology (ICT) sector saw production reach EGP 108bn during FY 2019/20, compared to EGP 93.5bn in FY 2018/19. The communications sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose to 4.4% in FY 2019/20, compared to 3.8% in FY 2018/19.
He also said that Egypt’s information technology (IT) services exports in 2020 rose by 13%, with the volume of exports in 2020 estimated at $4.1bn, compared to $3.6bn in 2019.
Makhlouf added that the total investments made in the ICT sector increased by 35%, registering EGP 48.1bn in FY 2019/20, compared to EGP 35.4bn in FY 2018/19.
A nationwide experimental operation of Egypt’s digital platform was completed in July 2020, during which 34 digital government services were made available. The services covered: supply and documentation services packages; courts; and licence agencies.
The experiment saw 544,400 citizens registered on the platform, in addition to the submission of 472,000 requests through the platform, he added.
“A total of 361 modern outlets have been established for documentation processes, as part of the state’s plan to develop and automate real estate registration offices, in addition to raising the efficiency of 781 post offices, while 115,000 youth have been provided training,” Makhlouf said, “The initial operation of five Egypt innovation centres at universities has been completed, in addition to the graduation of 22 new technology start-ups, and the incubation of 29 new startups.”
Egypt’s ranking in the general index advanced 55 places to 56th in the world among 172 countries, compared to the 111th place among 194 countries in 2019.
