Egypt’s ICT Minister Discusses ICT Investment and Strategic Partnerships with Italian Officials in Rome
As part of efforts to deepen international cooperation in the ICT sector and attract foreign investment into Egypt’s offshoring and digital economy, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr. Amr Talaat held a series of high-level meetings with key Italian business leaders in Rome.
During his visit, Dr. Talaat met with Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle and President of Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo, the leading organization representing Italy’s manufacturing and service sectors. The meeting, also attended by Ambassador of Egypt to Italy Bassam Rady, focused on advancing partnerships between Egyptian and Italian ICT companies.
Talks reviewed the successful collaboration between Telecom Egypt and Sparkle in enhancing global digital infrastructure, and explored opportunities for joint efforts in digital capacity building through partnerships between Sparkle’s academies and Egypt’s WE Applied Technology Schools.
Dr. Talaat highlighted Egypt’s efforts under the Digital Egypt Strategy for the Offshoring Industry, showcasing the country’s competitive edge and the incentives offered to position Egypt as a regional hub for outsourcing services. He emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to building skilled talent pipelines through specialized training programs.
Bagnasco welcomed the dialogue, describing it as an important first step to introducing Italian companies to the advantages of investing in Egypt’s fast-growing offshoring sector. He proposed organizing an expanded business roundtable to deepen engagement with member companies of Confindustria.
Confindustria, Italy’s largest industrial association, represents more than 170,000 companies employing over 5.3 million workers, and plays a pivotal role in linking Italian businesses to global markets.
As part of his visit, Dr. Talaat also met with Alfonso Siano, Head of International Relations at Intesa Sanpaolo, one of Italy’s leading banking groups. Discussions addressed the bank’s plans for expanding operations in the Egyptian market, particularly in FinTech, digital innovation, and supporting Egypt’s startup ecosystem.
The meeting underscored Egypt’s attractiveness as an offshoring destination, with its strategic location, skilled multilingual talent, and robust digital infrastructure. Dr. Talaat noted that Egypt’s offshoring sector is witnessing continuous growth, offering flexible service models across industries, including banking and financial services.
Intesa Sanpaolo operates in 12 countries across Central and Eastern Europe, MENA, and has a global network supporting corporate clients in 25 countries.
In a similar context, Dr. Talaat also met with Gianfranco Previtera, President of AlmavivA, and Amr Sayed, MENA Business Development Manager. AlmavivA, one of Italy’s largest technology and outsourcing companies with over 40,000 employees and 80 offices worldwide, expressed plans to expand its Egypt operations as part of broader African expansion.
The company aims to increase its workforce in Egypt and leverage the country’s strong youth talent in digital services and customer experience.
All meetings were attended by Ahmed Elzaher, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA); Sherine El-Guindy, Assistant ICT Minister for Strategy and Implementation; and Samah Aziz, Director of the Central Department of International Relations at MCIT.