Egypt’s digital economy sector growing to 4% of GDP – minister

Digital economy industry in Egypt accounts for around 4 percent of its GDP, former Communications Minister Atef Helmy said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the digital economy sector’s share in gross domestic product (GDP) of the United states, EU, and the UAE amounts to 8 percent, 6 percent, and 5 percent, respectively, Helmy said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

Nowadays, it is key to undergo digital transformation, an engine of growth that leverages Arab countries’ key strengths, Helmy added.

Three factors are crucial to enhance digital transformation process in the Arab region, the Egyptian minister said. For the first step, he called for dividing the region into three clusters to develop each country’s digital transformation strategy based on their digital readiness and performance.

The first cluster would be named as activators, including countries fraught with internal strife; Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen besides Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Palestine, Somalia, and Sudan.

The second cluster would be called the accelerators, namely Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. The third and last cluster include the GCC countries, under the name of accomplishers, involving Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE.

As for the second factor, Helmy stresses the importance of building a suitable infrastructure to undergo digital transformation process.

Key government processes are also important, including modernisation of government IT infrastructure to allow for seamless digital processes, and the establishment of an adequate legal and regulatory framework, the minister said.