Egypt’s ICT Ministry Sets Goal to Train 30,000 AI Experts

The “Shaping Egypt’s AI Horizon” forum, hosted at the Creativa Innovation Hub in Giza, brought together key figures from the AI ecosystem, including Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, industry professionals, venture capitalists, startups, and representatives from AI-driven sectors. The event was organized by ITIDA in partnership with 500 Global.

Forum Objectives
The forum aimed to engage stakeholders in discussions around Egypt’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2025–2030), with a focus on how it can support entrepreneurship and attract technology investment. Dr. Talaat highlighted the ministry’s dedication to regular engagement with ICT stakeholders to better understand their evolving needs in the rapidly expanding field of AI.

He stressed the importance of open dialogue across Egypt’s AI landscape—government bodies, startups, SMEs, private sector players, civil society, and AI-focused industries.

Strategic Pillars

Dr. Talaat outlined six core pillars of Egypt’s AI strategy:

1. Expanding computing infrastructure to support AI development.
2. Establishing data governance for ethical and accessible AI use.
3. Deploying AI-powered solutions in practical sectors.
4. Building talent pipelines to address workforce demands.
5. Creating regulatory frameworks for ethical AI deployment.
6. Supporting ecosystem growth by connecting innovators, businesses, and investors.

ITIDA and 500 Global Partnership

Engineer Ahmed Alzaher from ITIDA highlighted their mission to unify stakeholders across the entrepreneurial ecosystem to identify AI opportunities and market needs. ITIDA continues to refine its training programs in areas like software engineering and AI tools, and provides internationally accredited certifications. The agency has supported 37 startups tackling AI talent shortages, and is rolling out advanced training to address these gaps.

Amal Anan, Managing Partner at 500 Global, noted that the forum fosters collaboration between local and international AI firms. She also confirmed 500 Global’s growing investment in Egypt’s AI startups, with a strong focus on embedding AI within business operations.

Government AI Initiatives

Dr. Hoda Baraka, ICT Minister’s Advisor, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to expanding AI integration across key sectors. She outlined the second phase of the AI strategy, which includes training 30,000 AI specialists, enabling 26% of Egypt’s workforce to utilize AI tools, and boosting citizen AI adoption by 36%.