Digital Leaders Spotlight: Egypt

As part of its National Digital Transformation Strategy, Egypt is committed to accelerating the adoption of digital technologies across public services, focusing on improving public administration and citizen engagement. With strong regulatory and policy reforms, the country has made significant strides toward achieving its digital ambitions. However, there remains much to be done for all Egyptians to fully benefit from these initiatives.

In November 2022 within the framework of the Egyptian-German bilateral development cooperation, The Egyptian government, represented by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) has partnered with the GovStack Global Initiative, aiming to transform the government into a digital platform that provides citizens with convenient, secure, and efficient access to services

GovStack Approach

GovStack in Egypt is implemented with the goal of providing a solid foundation for scalable, secure, and interoperable digital public services. GovStack’s support focuses on three key areas:

• A comprehensive approach to improving digital skills among civil servants, ensuring they are prepared for Egypt’s digital transformation journey. This includes workshops, e-learning content, and the establishment of Communities of Practice for peer-to-peer learning.
• GovStack is working with Egypt to scale its digital administrative applications, focusing on the sustainable implementation of e-government services. Two funding commitments have been secured to support these efforts.
• In Egypt, the GoStack approach recognizes the importance of sustained knowledge sharing and skill development in ICT implementation. To ensure the longevity and effective utilization of the established ICT building blocks, Communities of Practice (CoPs) have been fostered. These CoPs serve as dynamic platforms for stakeholders to exchange experiences, best practices, and lessons learned. They also enable continuous learning and adaptation, ensuring the ICT building blocks remain relevant and optimized for Egypt’s specific needs.

Use Case Development:

• GovStack has prioritized the prototyping of key e-government services, including a healthcare citizen engagement application. These use cases are developed using GovStack’s ICT building blocks, with the goal of modernizing Egypt’s public service delivery.

Where We Stand

The GovStack Egypt initiative has made notable progress, particularly in capacity building and use case prototyping. Some key achievements include:

• In August 2023, an intensive 10-day GovStack Deep-Dive Workshop was held with over 150 participants, including a significant 30% female representation. Experts guided the participants through GovStack’s framework, effectively identifying Egypt’s digital needs and formulating a roadmap for implementing the GovStack Plan. Furthermore, GovStack e-learning hub has developed 18 modules of localized advanced track e-learning content tailored to Egypt, addressing crucial aspects of digital public infrastructure. A training of trainers (ToT) program is planned to follow, involving 50 trainees, further contributing to the GovStack initiative in Egypt.
• Egypt is actively working to enhance healthcare service delivery nationwide. Currently, a prototype for a Healthcare Citizen Engagement Application is in development. Once fully realized, this application is expected to streamline healthcare access and engagement for Egyptian citizens, making it easier for them to interact with the healthcare system and its services.
• Egypt’s journey with GovStack has been marked by significant milestones. The launch of the GovStack Egypt Chapter in March 2024 created a thriving Community of Practice with over 144 members, fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among key stakeholders. This collaborative spirit was ignited earlier in November 2022 with the GovStack Kick-off Event, which officially inaugurated Egypt’s partnership with GovStack, uniting government and industry leaders in a shared vision for digital transformation.

Next Steps

As Egypt continues to make progress in its digital transformation journey with the support of GovStack, several key objectives remain on the horizon:

• Use Cases and Prototyping: GovStack is dedicated to working closely with MCIT to develop two additional use case prototypes. These prototypes will utilize Egyptian components that are built upon the GovStack building blocks.
• Ensure thorough training and capacity building by schedule and execute the remaining training sessions for civil servants actively engaged in the development process. This comprehensive training is pivotal in ensuring the successful implementation and long-term sustainability of Egypt’s e-government services

We remain committed to scaling our digital infrastructure and overcoming remaining hurdles. With guidance from Egypt’s National Digital Government Roadmap, we’re confident in achieving our digital transformation goals.