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Arab Finance: Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid Saleh held talks with executives from Visa in Washington, D.C., to expand the company’s investments in Egypt and explore the establishment of the country’s first TradeTech Sandbox aimed at enhancing exports through artificial intelligence technologies, as per a statement.
The meeting, held on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, brought together a senior Visa delegation led by Robert Thomson, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Government Relations, alongside Caitlin McDonnell, Senior Director and Head of International Affairs.
Discussions focused on strengthening Visa’s presence in the Egyptian market while advancing plans to position Cairo as a regional hub for financial technology and digital innovation. Both sides also explored cooperation in establishing a regulatory sandbox for foreign trade, designed to support export growth and identify new markets using advanced data-driven models.
Farid said that the Egyptian economy is fully prepared to attract investments across all sectors, emphasizing that the government continues to implement reforms to improve the business environment and strengthen macroeconomic indicators.
He highlighted progress in digitizing the non-banking financial sector, pointing to the adoption of regulatory frameworks such as electronic identification, electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC), and e-contracting.
These measures, he noted, have contributed to a significant transformation in the investment landscape, with the number of new investors in the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) rising from 25,000 to 350,000 annually over the past three years, supported by digital onboarding systems. The reforms have also enabled individuals as young as 15 to open investment accounts, helping to promote savings and early participation in financial markets.
Farid added that regulatory developments have extended to insurance and crowdfunding, with insurance policies now issued fully electronically and frameworks for crowdfunding already in place.
He also revealed that the government is studying the creation of specialized financial and technology zones built on three main pillars, with the first involving establishing an internationally aligned legal framework to attract venture capital.
The second pillar focuses on developing green data centers on Egypt’s northern coast powered by renewable energy, leveraging the 21 submarine cables passing through the Suez Canal to reinforce the country’s role as a global data hub. The third pillar aims to localize the software industry and capitalize on Egyptian talent in mathematics and physics to drive value creation in artificial intelligence.
For their part, Visa executives affirmed their commitment to increasing investments in Egypt, noting that the company’s Cairo office has expanded to more than 130 employees, serving as a regional hub for North Africa, the Levant, and Pakistan.
They also highlighted ongoing initiatives, including the Citizen Card project in Port Said and the Digital Villages initiative supporting micro-enterprises, as well as opportunities to collaborate on digitizing government services.
The meeting concluded with Farid inviting Visa to participate in establishing the TradeTech Sandbox at the Foreign Trade Training Center. The initiative is intended to utilize artificial intelligence to analyze export data and open new markets for Egyptian products.
Moreover, Visa expressed interest in contributing to the project, underscoring its role as a strategic partner in supporting Egypt’s digital transformation and enhancing export competitiveness.
