ICT Minister Delivers Speech at Techne Summit Alexandria 2025 Opening
The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat delivered a speech during the opening of Techne Summit 2025, held at Bibliotheca Alexandrina on October 4–6.
The opening ceremony was attended by Governor of Alexandria Ahmed Khaled Said, Ambassador of Sweden to Egypt Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt, President of the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCAME), the General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), and Alexandria Chamber of Commerce Ahmed El Wakil; Chairman of the Digital Economy and Technology General Division (DETGD) at FEDCOC Khalil Hassan, and Secretary-General of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, and Professions (UACCIAP) Alaa Ezz.
In his remarks, the ICT Minister declared that work is underway to launch an updated version of EgyptInnovate Platform, developed by startups to offer promising opportunities for connecting with local and international investors, enabling startups to attract investments through a data-driven interactive map providing open-source data access. He pointed out that the platform will offer information about entities engaged in Egypt’s entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem, including summaries of their activities, allowing investors to explore and compare startups’ technological added value, thus facilitating access to financing opportunities.
The ICT Minister underscored that the platform will also feature an AI-powered chatbot that provides technical, technological, and economic consultations for entrepreneurs, alongside a categorized service directory tailored to each stage of startup growth, identifying providers of financial, technical, or training support from government, non-government, supporting institutions, or civil society organizations. He added that the platform currently hosts over 70,000 users, with plans to double this number in the near future.
Talaat emphasized that startup investments within the ICT sector have increased sevenfold over the past five years (2020-2025) compared to 2015-2019. He highlighted that this growth reflects the vibrant momentum of Egypt’s startup ecosystem and the innovative and creative performance across the sector that continues to attract investments. He also pointed to Egypt’s advancement in the Global Innovation Index (GII).
Furthermore, the ICT Minister outlined that the Digital Egypt strategy is built on three main pillars, one of which focuses on nurturing creativity and innovation, empowering entrepreneurs to transform their ideas into tangible realities, and expanding startup operations domestically, regionally, and internationally. He remarked that the number of Creativa Innovation Hubs has increased from three in 2018 to 24 across 21 governorates, with ongoing efforts to establish additional hubs nationwide.
The ICT Minister mentioned the efforts made to empower startups to gain access to technology, skills, expertise, financing, and international markets. Around 790 startups have received support at different Creativa Hubs, including training programs and access to technical labs. Over the past year and a half, he explained, approximately 69 startups have been incubated and enabled to develop prototypes at Creativa labs. He stressed that this technical support aims to help startups develop solutions and create value-added solutions capable of attracting investments, achieving growth, and competing effectively in local and regional markets.
Moreover, Talaat underlined the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology’s (MCIT) efforts to enhance startups’ access to skills and expertise by expanding training initiatives and programs. He added that the number of trainees has surged from 4,000 in 2018 to 480,000 during the past fiscal year, with plans to exceed 500,000 trainees annually across ICT disciplines.
The ICT Minister pointed out that enabling access to financing is a key enabler for startups. He spotlighted MCIT’s partnerships with Plug and Play and 500 Global, two leading global venture capital firms. He noted that collaboration with these firms was first launched in Cairo, and last year, the partnership was expanded to Upper Egypt through Creativa Innovation Hub in Aswan to organize networking events connecting innovators with startups in this region. He added that this year marks the launch of the second phase of this expansion, covering the Delta, Canal, and Alexandria regions.
In this context, Talaat commended the Governor of Alexandria’s invitation for startups to showcase innovative and creative tech solutions to address local challenges.
The ICT Minister also referred to Start IT Incubation Program, offering financial and in-kind support of up to EGP 1 million per startup, including cash funding as well as cloud computing services valued at around EGP 500,000, provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). He also mentioned Creativa Incubation Program (CIP), organized within Creativa Innovation Hubs, offering support of up to EGP 400,000 during a nine-month startup incubation. He noted that several annual plans aim to expand startups’ presence in international markets and exhibitions, such as the Web Summit held in Portugal, where 24 Egyptian startups are taking part this year.
For his part, Said stated that holding Techne Summit 2025 in Alexandria reflects Egypt’s ambitious vision for a future driven by innovation and entrepreneurship. It serves as a global platform for entrepreneurs, innovators, experts, and government officials to discuss the latest tech advancements and their applications across various sectors, thus strengthening connections among Egypt’s and the world’s creative minds.
Said also underscored that Egypt prioritizes empowering creative youth in technology and entrepreneurship, under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, considering this the most valuable and sustainable investment. Accordingly, Alexandria Governorate is committed to advancing the digital economy and adopting innovation, in partnership with Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, to enhance the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy regionally and internationally.
The Governor also called for launching the “smart Alexandria city” initiative, in coordination with MCIT and the private sector, with broad youth participation. He added that this initiative would enable Alexandria to address its challenges by adopting advanced smart applications.
In a similar vein, the Ambassador of Sweden to Egypt highlighted the significance of bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Sweden in innovation and technological creativity. He pointed to several joint forums and events that foster this collaboration. He also underscored that the presence of Swedish technology and innovation companies operating in Egypt stands as a key outcome of this partnership.
Juhlin-Dannfelt said he looked forward to more cooperation and exchange of expertise between Egyptian and Swedish startups. He pointed out that Sweden’s AI strategy focuses on harnessing AI technologies to serve citizens across various sectors. He also stressed the importance of adopting responsible AI to drive innovation and creativity in advancing nations.
El Wakil, for his part, highlighted MCIT’s continuous support to FEDCOC and Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. He noted that the Alexandria Chamber hosts a virtual incubator for ICT entrepreneurs. El Wakil also emphasized that ASCAME adopts a vision that recognizes startups as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as core drivers of economic growth and youth employment, particularly within digital economies. He also pointed to the growing success of Techne Summit in positioning Egypt as a leading player in global innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship.
Following the opening ceremony, Talaat, Said, and Juhlin-Dannfelt toured the startup exhibition held on the sidelines of the Summit. During the tour, Talaat engaged with entrepreneurs to hear their success stories and address their needs. In addition, commemorative photos were taken to mark the occasion.
It is worth noting that Techne Summit 2025 covers a wide range of topics, including EdTech, corporate innovation, architecture, real estate, design, investment, e-commerce, sports technology, gaming, HealthTech, FinTech, marketing and media technology, startup innovation, food tech, and legal tech, with participation from 70 countries.