Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has delegated the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat to participate in the opening ceremony of Seamless North Africa 2023, hosted in Egypt, on July 17-18, at Egypt International Exhibitions Center (EIEC), under the theme “The Gateway to FinTech in the Middle East and Africa”. The event was organized under the auspices of the Egyptian Cabinet, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the League of Arab States (LAS), and the Arab Federation for Digital Economy (AFDE).
The opening ceremony was attended by CBE Deputy Governor Rami Aboulnaga on behalf of the CBE Governor, Minister of Social Solidarity Nivine El-Kabbag, Chairman of Egypt Post Sherif Farouk, CBE Deputy Governor Gamal Negm, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Hossam Heiba, CEO of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) Basil Rahmi, the Chairman of Egyptian Exchange (EGX) Rami El-Dokany, LAS representatives, and various officials and experts specialized in e-payment, FinTech, innovation, and digital banks worldwide.
The ICT Minister delivered a speech on behalf of the Prime Minister:
In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Honorable CBE Deputy Governor Mr. Rami Aboulnaga,
Honorable Ministers,
Your Excellencies Ambassadors,
Honorable Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks (UAB),
Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests of Egypt,
Honorable Participants,
Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you,
It is my pleasure to participate in Seamless North Africa 2023 for the second consecutive year. This significant event brings together several decision-makers, experts, and specialists in FinTech, the promising industry that represents one of the crucial foundations for establishing and developing the digital economy and constitutes a building block of Digital Egypt.
Over the past years, I have proudly and closely followed up on the ongoing developments witnessed within the FinTech industry in the Egyptian market.
Egypt’s hosting of the event reflects its keenness to foster FinTech, being one of the key pillars of the integrated strategy pursued by the government to build a robust digital economy. The strategy aims to keep pace with future aspirations and challenges and leverage the vast opportunities created by digitization to achieve social and economic development.
The state is also keen on enhancing cooperation with all actors of the global FinTech ecosystem, especially at the Arab and African levels.
In this regard, the government has achieved a breakthrough in using digital technologies to build Digital Egypt, including the digitization of all ministries and government agencies. The aim is to render services to citizens more efficiently and smoothly, particularly by optimizing the work performance of the state’s administrative apparatus and raising the efficiency of government institutions and the public sector.
The digitization process of government services can only be expanded and implemented by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of FinTech services and e-payments to meet all customers’ expectations, including startups and investors. It has been achieved by taking and implementing the following steps:
– Building and developing a robust technological infrastructure, in line with the state’s growing needs and future aspirations, as a mega project has been implemented since 2019 to raise the efficiency of the Internet, with investments worth EGP 100 billion;
– Creating the legislative and regulatory enabling environment for digital transformation;
– Leveraging and exchanging expertise of local and international talent pools;
– Developing the capabilities of the Egyptian talent pool in FinTech, through carrying out specialized training initiatives and programs and granting a professional Master’s degree in this significant field;
– Fostering innovation in FinTech to create digital applications supporting e-payment systems and promoting financial inclusion. The state attaches great importance to FinTech in venture capital investments in startups. FinTech comes at the forefront of the industries in terms of attracting investments in Egyptian ICT startups;
– Creating an enabling environment for competition, and facilitating investment procedures to promote the transition to the digital economy;
– Raising citizens’ awareness of FinTech and creating an environment of trust in financial transactions through the e-payment system; and
– Taking various procedures to support and use e-payments via mobile phone e-wallets, as part of the national efforts to achieve financial inclusion.
In parallel with these efforts, many initiatives have been launched and implemented to promote and achieve digital transformation and boost the growth of FinTech, including but not limited to:
– Establishing the National Payments Council (NPC), chaired by the President of the Republic, to decrease the use of cash, support and promote the use of alternative e-payment methods and channels, and encourage integration into the formal financial system;
– Implementing a five-year tax exemption for startups to boost their growth and foster the talent pool in the Egyptian market; and
– Launching a digital platform that enables entrepreneurs to establish startups online.
FinTech has not only provided non-traditional solutions to render financial services to all segments of society, but it has also reduced the cost of financial services and improved their quality. It also helps reach and offer more financial and banking services to targeted customers in remote areas.
Being a major driving force for developing digital financial services and supporting emerging FinTech companies, CBE has taken steady steps to create and develop an enabling environment for boosting FinTech growth and usage, in line with the national efforts to enhance financial inclusion, reduce poverty, and achieve sustainable development. CBE has taken steady steps to embrace and develop an environment that promotes the growth of FinTech and the expansion of its uses. These steps include:
– Setting the general framework for the transition to a cashless economy and encouraging citizens to use e-payment methods instead of cash;
– Launching the Egyptian National Payment Scheme (Meeza), which provides various payment methods suitable for all segments of society, followed by launching a project to issue Meeza cards as a replacement and renewal method for pension and payroll cards of state employees, and developing an e-acceptance system to include electronic points of sale (POS) and QR codes; and
– Launching the instant payment network (InstaPay), achieving integrated connection between all national payment ecosystems to support inter-network transactions.
Within the framework of the national commitment and keenness to render more diverse banking and financial services, I commend the cooperation between CBE and the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) and their efforts to issue the necessary legislative amendments to regulate alternative financing activities and services. This would help develop new and innovative financing methods within the Egyptian market to meet the demands and aspirations of different segments of society and provide them within a legislative and regulatory framework which ensures all citizens’ rights.
I also value the cooperation between CBE, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education to train FinTech calibers to create a generation of experts specialized in FinTech.
To sum up, those following the developments of FinTech in the Egyptian market will notice a breakthrough in its capabilities and an increase in the number of startups operating in this field as well as users of e-payment methods.
Egypt spares no effort to achieve a transition to a successful digital economy that meets citizens’ needs and retains trust in government performance through the quick delivery of services and the financial transparency.
Seamless North Africa 2023, featuring high-level experts as well as FinTech-related discussions, issues, and topics, will indisputably strengthens the national efforts to the transition to the targeted digital economy and building Digital Egypt.
I wish you great success,
Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.
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