Ai Everything Middle East & Africa Egypt launched in Cairo
Ai Everything Middle East & Africa Egypt has marked its inaugural moment with an exclusive launch at the iconic Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace in Cairo, Egypt, on September 11, following its announcement on September 5. The launch emphasised Egypt’s ambition to unlock $42.7 billion in annual AI value by 2030 while positioning Cairo as the global hub of AI collaboration.
It was organised by GITEX GLOBAL and hosted by Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), in strategic partnership with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA). The launch event served as a precursor to the region’s most empowering global AI tech week, set to take place from 11-12 February 2026.
“AI today is no longer a trend; it is a core driver of economic and societal transformation. Hosting Ai Everything MEA Egypt is part of Egypt’s mission to remain at the forefront of the global technology revolution. This summit cements our position as a regional hub for innovation and trusted global partner in the AI era,” said Eng. Ahmed Elzaher, CEO, ITIDA at the event.
The invite-only launch event convened senior government officials, global tech executives, and the nation’s most dynamic AI innovators, alongside media, tech, and startup ecosystem guests. The discussions explored the pivotal role of Ai Everything MEA Egypt in aligning international expertise with Egypt’s National AI Strategy 2025-2030.
The spotlights fell on the country’s competitive strengths in outsourced digital services, semiconductors, electronic design manufacturing, public sector transformation, startup innovations and attracting global investments.
“AI is going to be the backbone of economic transformation, human capital growth and supremacy for Egypt, and this AI renaissance has brought Ai Everything MEA here. The show’s mission is very clear,” stated Trixie LohMirmand, EVP of Dubai World Trade Centre, CEO of KAOUN International, and global organiser of GITEX and Ai Everything.
“We are here to empower the stakeholders, be it the private or public sector, as well as the youth, the talent, and the startups. We are very honoured to work with the stakeholders in Egypt, giving us the chance to co-create and curate the AI future for the young talent, the businesses, the SMEs, and the industries of Egypt,” he added.
Ai Everything MEA Egypt event features a line-up of acclaimed international AI experts and leaders sparking thought-provoking discussions on building next-gen AI infrastructures and responsible scaling, alongside frontier showcases in AI, semiconductors, cybersecurity, digital health, fintech, and more.
The show also hosts one of the largest startup and investor gatherings, setting the stage to accelerate global tech partnerships, attract investment, and announce Cairo’s role as the epicentre of AI innovation in the Middle East and Africa.
The evening concluded with a panel discussion on ‘Egypt’s AI Future’, where industry leaders from IBM, HPE, Deloitte Innovation Hub, Widebot AI, Intella and Plug & Play Tech Centre explored the opportunities and challenges facing Egypt’s AI ecosystem, from scaling startups to strengthening public–private partnerships.
Marwa Abbas, GM and Technology Leader Northeast Africa, IBM, shared, “IBM is pleased to be part of Ai Everything MEA Egypt, where we are showcasing how IBM watsonx and our AI and hybrid cloud capabilities are helping clients in Egypt and across the region to accelerate their digital transformation. Through real-world use cases and industry collaboration, we are demonstrating how AI can drive productivity, innovation, and sustainable growth”
Mohamed Wasfy, Country Manager, Egypt, HPE, reiterated: “At HPE, our engineers are focused on designing very energy efficient AI systems. Among the top ten most energy efficient systems in the world, three are from HPE. We bring to the market ready-made, ready-to-deploy AI systems that can generate ROI in days, not months or years.”
Ahmed Salem, COO & Engineering, AI & Data Lead, Deloitte Innovation Hub, said: “We’ve rolled our AI platforms across 200,000 users. We started to look at alliances, partnerships, other platforms, hyperscalers for reinventing software driven AI.”
Mohamed Nabil, CEO of WideBot AI, creator of the most accurate Large Language Model (LLM) in Arabic; and Nour Taher, CEO of Intella, the groundbreaking AI startup that recently made headlines for its $12.5 million Series A funding; both shared insights on raising the global competitiveness of Egyptian startups and the recent successes in attracting funding and scaling business.
The insightful discussions were moderated by Karima El Hakim, Country Director in Egypt and Director in Africa, Plug & Play Tech Centre, Cairo’s leading startup hub.
H.E. Dr. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, shared: “Egypt’s selection to host AI Everything Middle East & Africa Egypt reflects the international community’s recognition of our country’s rapid progress and leapfrogging steps in artificial intelligence. This momentum stems not only from the efforts of the Ministry, but from the collective contributions of Egypt’s entire ICT community. Since launching our first National AI Strategy in 2019, Egypt has advanced 46 places in the global AI Readiness Index.
“Earlier this year, we launched the second edition of the National AI Strategy, built on six key pillars: expanding access to computing resources for startups and SMEs; ensuring robust data governance; developing AI-powered systems to drive sectoral growth; building digital skills as the cornerstone of the strategy; raising public awareness around AI opportunities and risks; and establishing the regulatory and legislative framework to enable a thriving AI ecosystem.”
Source: Ai Everything MEA Egypt
Oral Ofori is Founder and Publisher at www.TheAfricanDream.net, a digital storyteller and producer, and also an information and research consultant.
