UN, Egypt sign MoU to launch UN African Technology Innovation Lab

Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the United Nations (UN) signed a Memorandum of understanding to launch a UN African Technology Innovation Lab (UNTIL), headquartered in Egypt.

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Yasser ElKady has witnessed the signing of the MOU by the ICT Minister’s Advisor for Training and Technological Innovation Hossam Osman and the UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt Richard Dictus.

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the second day of the 21st Cairo ICT, held under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, on December 3-6, at Egypt Convention Center, in New Cairo.

The launch of this lab is within the framework of the UN plan to deploy a set of technological innovation labs across the world, one or more labs per each continent. Egypt was selected to be the headquarters of the UNTIL of Africa due to the great development made in Egypt in the field of ICT and entrepreneurship.

The UNTIL is due to be established in Smart Village at the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC), aiming to develop innovative technological solutions that address global challenges, achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals and serve UN Member States.

The Egyptian Lab focuses on a number of fields related to the education of People with Disabilities (PwDs), prevention of epidemics, medical tourism and waste management for protecting the environment and rationalizing water consumption in agriculture.

Solutions will be developed using open source software and open data. Egypt will cooperate with the entities of the labs established around the world in order to achieve integration and confront challenges through exchanging experiences and tools.