Technology leaders, investors and government officials gather in Cairo today as AI Everything MEA Egypt 2026 gets underway.
Cairo – Ai Everything MEA Egypt 2026 kicks off today in Cairo, bringing technology executives, startup founders, investors, policymakers, and engineers under one roof for two days of discussions focused on artificial intelligence.
The event runs through Thursday, February 12, at the Egypt International Exhibition Center, drawing participants from more than 60 countries.
Organized by GITEX GLOBAL and hosted by Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in partnership with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), whose CEO Ahmad Elzaher gave the opening address. The summit reflects Egypt’s push to expand AI adoption across its economy.
The summit aligns with the Egyptian government’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030, which places emphasis on digital infrastructure, computing power, and wider use of AI in both public institutions and private industry.
Major tech giants are present, including Cisco, e&, Microsoft, Novomind, Logitech, Barq Systems and Capgemini, alongside regional startups and enterprise technology providers. Executives and technical teams are taking part in panels, closed-door meetings, and exhibition showcases throughout the venue.
Sessions will focus on AI deployment across financial services, cybersecurity, cloud systems and data center infrastructure, with panels addressing fraud detection, risk monitoring, network security and regulatory compliance.
Semiconductors will also be a central component in these discussions, particularly access to advanced chips, supply chain resilience and computing capacity. Additional sessions cover intelligent connectivity, digital health, enterprise AI and quantum computing.
On the Main Stage, discussions today during the Sovereign AI Summit include a panel on “Human-Centric AI: Power, Responsibility and the Global South,” examining governance, equity, and the role of emerging economies in shaping AI standards. The biggest question that this panel will examine is what responsibility AI builders carry as models move faster than regulation.
Also at the exclusive Sovereign AI Summit, participants will have access to a high-level government discussion between Dr. Abdulaziz Al Malik, Saudi Arabia Deputy Minister for Research and Innovation Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture alongside Huda Alwahidi Palestine Deputy Minister Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Economy covering how to protect sovereign AI when the current global systems are not stable.
Later, “Africa’s AI Leap: Turning Local Innovation into Global Platforms” brings together Michel Rogy of the World Bank, Akua Gyekye of Microsoft Africa, and France 24 presenter Julia Sieger to discuss scaling African innovation internationally.
Another key session, “AI’s Energy Bill,” explores how governments across Asia and Africa deploy AI systems for climate resilience, water and energy management, disaster response, and urban planning, featuring Golisitan Radwan of the United Nations Environment Program.
On the AI Academy Stage, a featured session titled “AI from Strategy to Impact: Egypt’s Next Chapter” focuses on the country’s transition from policy planning to implementation under its National AI Strategy.
The discussion brings together Dr. Huda Baraka, National AI Lead and Founding Director of ECRAI, Michel Rogy of the World Bank, and Engineer Mahmoud Badawi, Assistant Minister for Digital Transformation, to examine how Egypt is moving from ambition to execution in its digital transformation agenda.
On the Growth Stage, Microsoft is presenting “Operate Anywhere: Microsoft First Party AI in Disconnected Containers with Azure Local,” where Cloud and AI Specialist Yara Maher outlines how disconnected container environments are being deployed for customers in Egypt, particularly in sovereign and infrastructure-sensitive scenarios.
Another AI Lab session, led by Nadine Khoukaz, AI Business Solutions GTM Lead for Microsoft’s multi-country cluster, examines co-pilots and agents, focusing on production economics, latency and governance, and how Microsoft’s AI stack translates models into real-world enterprise applications, including GitHub Copilot integrations.
As the summit unfolds today and tomorrow, the focus remains on practical implementation, infrastructure readiness and how AI systems are being integrated into large-scale operations across the region.
Source: Oumaima Moho Amer
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