ITIDA Highlights Egypt’s Startup Opportunity in the Age of AI at Techne Summit Alexandria 2026
Egypt is positioning its startup ecosystem to capture new opportunities created by artificial intelligence, with a growing focus on helping companies turn AI capabilities into products that solve real-world problems and can scale globally, said Eng. Ahmed Elzaher, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), at the opening of Techne Summit Alexandria 2026.
Speaking on behalf of H.E. Eng. Raafat Hindy, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Elzaher outlined Egypt’s approach to helping startups build, test and scale AI-enabled solutions. The opening was attended by H.E. Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt, Ambassador of Sweden to Egypt; Eng. Khalil Hassan Khalil, Chairman of the General Division for Digital Economy and Technology at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce; and Eng. Tarek El Kady, Founder of Techne Summit, alongside investors, entrepreneurs and technology leaders.
Elzaher noted that AI is giving smaller teams access to capabilities that once required significant resources, while also raising the bar for competition.
“If everyone can access the same AI models, the question becomes: what makes your company different?” he said, pointing to a deeper understanding of customer problems, specialised data, industry expertise and strong customer relationships as increasingly important sources of competitive advantage.
From Local Insight to Global Solutions
Elzaher highlighted opportunities for Egyptian startups across sectors including healthcare, education, fintech, agriculture and government services, where understanding local needs can provide a foundation for solutions with regional and global potential.
He stressed that the opportunity is not simply to adopt AI, but to turn it into products and services that address real problems and create sustainable, scalable value.
Egypt’s ICT sector recorded 19.2% growth, reinforcing the sector’s growing contribution to the economy and the opportunity for Egyptian companies to move further into higher-value technology products and services.
From Skills to Scale
Elzaher outlined four priorities for enabling startups to capture the opportunities created by AI: skills, resources, real-world application and scale.
This includes building AI capabilities, improving access to cloud and computing resources, and creating opportunities for startups to test their solutions with real customers. He highlighted ITIDA’s programmes and partnerships, including StartIT and AWS, as well as incubation and acceleration through Creativa Innovation Hubs, partnerships with Plug and Play and 500 Global, and the Venture Ready programme with GIZ.
He also highlighted preparations for an AI competition with a government ministry, giving startups and innovative teams the opportunity to address real-world challenges and develop practical solutions.
For Elzaher, building a product is only the starting point. Startups also need viable business models, investment readiness, market access and the ability to scale.
Egypt’s AI and Startup Ambition
The approach aligns with Egypt’s National AI Strategy 2025–2030, whose second phase targets supporting the creation of 250 AI-based startups by 2030.
Elzaher also encouraged entrepreneurs to engage with EgyptInnovate, the national innovation and entrepreneurship platform, by sharing their needs, experiences and ideas for improving programmes and services.
He stressed that listening to entrepreneurs and understanding the challenges they face is essential to developing support mechanisms that remain responsive to the market.
10 Egyptian Startups Showcase Their Solutions
As a strategic partner of Techne Summit Alexandria 2026, ITIDA is hosting a dedicated pavilion featuring 10 Egyptian technology startups benefiting from its programmes: KoCyber, STEMulator, Fabritec, Aman 7, Dackatra, Just2Pay, Polaris GRC, Dragons, Syncode X and EVRAID.
The companies span cybersecurity, edtech, SaaS, proptech, healthtech, fintech, AI, business automation, deep tech and electric mobility.
The pavilion gives the startups an opportunity to showcase their solutions directly to investors, businesses and potential partners, while opening pathways to new customers, partnerships and markets.
Through its support, ITIDA is helping Egyptian startups move from building products to testing them in the market, attracting investment and scaling internationally.
