In a scene that reflects the challenges faced by developing countries in their race to digitization, the file of digital transformation in Egypt is emerging as a controversial arena, swinging between presidential ambitions and declared government achievements on the one hand, and bureaucratic reality and institutional conflicts on the other, with the continued dominance of paper transactions on many government measures.
Presidential vision and criticism of the past
In a recent speech at the Police Academy, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reiterated that Egypt has received it in a “splench” state, pointing to the vast prospects that await those who possess the tools of technical knowledge. The president said that the “digital pioneer”, which may cost the state about one million pounds to qualify, can earn more than thirty thousand dollars per month, in reference to the profitable economic return to invest in digital skills.
In a previous speech, the president pointed out that if Egypt had started this technical path early thirty years ago, it would have had another matter today. But these statements have angered those involved in the sector, especially those who have contributed to previous efforts that have put Egypt in advanced ranks globally in the field of information technology before 2011.
Controversy of the starting point and previous achievements
The debate over the beginning of the digital transformation path prompted observers to refute the claim that this path began only ten years ago. They cited data from the Kerney Outsourcing Industry Index, which shows that Egypt was not listed before 2007, and then achieved advanced positions, reaching seventh place in 2011. Despite the decline from 2014 to 2017, the positions improved again to ninth place in 2019 and eighth in 2023, without restoring the level of 2011.
This decline indicates that the current system contributes to technical delay through the lack of effective coordination of events, and perhaps planning aimed at weakening national institutions for the benefit of external parties, reflecting the continuation of the same approach that technically delayed the country.
Significant achievements and continuing obstacles
Despite the controversy, official data of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology confirms that Egypt has made remarkable progress, with digital exports reaching about $6.2 billion, an increase of 54% from previous years. Vital sectors such as tourism have also been developed, and Egypt’s digital platform has been created, which has attracted millions of Egyptians and contributed to accelerating government work.
On the other hand, citizens’ complaints are repeated while dealing with government institutions that are still betting on paper documents, and do not rely on electronic documents to finish work and obtain licenses. The information technology expert, Romani Rizkallah, acknowledges the continued dependence of a large segment of state institutions on securities, especially in finance, customs and taxes, with some ministries reticent to the “one-stop shop” system for fear of reducing their powers.
Structural Challenges and Recommendations
Experts identify several major constraints to Egypt’s digital transformation, including infrastructure shortages, high financial costs, shortages of qualified staff, resistance to bureaucrats, and weak information exchange between ministries. They are highly critical of the low number of home internet subscribers (less than 15 million out of 110 million), its high cost and its low speed below global averages.
The experts call for increasing the number of specialists in outsourcing to exceed half a million specialists to reach industry exports to 10 billion dollars, with the need to issue a national decision to comprehensive governance of state institutions, and obliging them to recognize digital documents as a single approved source of data.
Abstract: Between Ambition and Reality
Egypt’s digital transformation is a model for the challenges facing countries seeking to leapfrog the knowledge economy. Despite tangible achievements in areas such as digital exports and infrastructure, bureaucratic obstacles, paper dominance, and institutional conflicts remain a major obstacle to achieving the ambitions of inclusive transformation. Overcoming these challenges requires genuine political will to reform management, and sustained investment in infrastructure and human resources, while creating a supportive environment for innovation and creativity away from traditional bureaucracy.
Source: https://bit.ly/43PjEFr
