Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid has stressed the importance of harnessing artificial intelligence and technology to facilitate Egyptian exports’ access to global markets, expand private-sector partnerships and develop investment zones to create jobs across the country.
Farid made the remarks during a meeting with CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) Adeeb Yusuf Al-Aama to discuss co-operation in export financing, start-up support, investment zones and digital trade solutions.
During the meeting, Farid discussed plans to establish a fintech sandbox that would use data, artificial intelligence and digital agents to improve exporters’ commercial and marketing operations, attract start-ups and provide financing to turn innovative solutions into scalable businesses.
He also proposed setting up dedicated credit lines for export factoring to provide liquidity and broaden exporters’ access to finance, potentially backed by international funds channelled through the Sovereign Fund of Egypt.
Farid outlined plans to develop 15 to 20 investment zones nationwide, each covering between 20 and 80 feddans, to accommodate industrial, logistical, manufacturing and service activities.
He said public-private partnerships could accelerate infrastructure development on the allocated land, noting that female workforce participation in some existing zones had reached 60 to 70 per cent.
For his part, the ITFC CEO reaffirmed the corporation’s commitment to expanding co-operation through Egypt’s 2026-2027 Country Programme under the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges initiative.
The programme includes tailored financing to support export-oriented projects, enhance competitiveness and facilitate access to new markets.
